An F-16 fighter jet defeated the larger and more modern Russian Su-35S with a little Swedish help

This Thursday I spoke here about the value that the F-16 still has as a fighter jet, and one fact has demonstrated it once again.

The Ukrainian Air Force shows off its F-16 fighters, revealing some details
Why is the F-16 still so highly valued in a market dominated by more modern fighters?

This Saturday at 10:10 CET, the Ukrainian Air Force announced the following: "This morning, June 7, 2025, following a successful Air Force operation in the direction of Kursk, a Russian Su-35 fighter jet was shot down!". Yesterday, at 10:55 CET, The Ukrainian Air Force published this video of the downed plane, inserting in it screenshots from Russian sources confirming the downing of the plane, a Sukhoi Su-35S, and that its sole crew member had managed to eject:

Air Power noted yesterday that various reports suggest the Su-35 was shot down by a Ukrainian F-16AM using an AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missile: "If confirmed, this would mark the first air-to-air kill of a Ukrainian Viper. More importantly, it would mean the front-line Russian Flanker was shot down by an ex-Dutch F-16AM, a variant many considered obsolete."

This is yet another fact that demonstrates the Fighting Falcon's virtues. The F-16AM is a mid-life upgrade of the F-16A, the oldest version of this fighter. Several F-16 operators subjected their aircraft to this modernization plan to keep their capabilities up to date, with improvements to their avionics, electronic warfare systems, and their ability to operate more modern air-to-air missiles, including the AIM-120C-7 version of the AMRAAM, which began development in 1998 and entered service a few years later.

In turn, the Su-35 is an improved version of the Russian Su-27 fighter, an aircraft of the same generation as the F-16 (the American fighter made its first flight in 1974, while the Russian fighter in 1977). The Su-35S made its first flight in 2008 and is one of Russia's main fighters.

The Russian Air Force had 110 fighters of this type in 2022, at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Except for the few Su-57s already in service, the Su-35 is the most modern and advanced fighter in the Russian Air Force. Due to its large size (21.9 meters long and 15.3 meters wide) and its performance (it reaches a speed of Mach 2.25, with a flight ceiling of 18,000), the Su-35 is Russia's competitor to the most modern versions of the American F-15 Eagle.

Any expert would have said by now that an F-16AM had a good chance of being defeated in an aerial combat with a Su-35S, especially considering that Russian pilots have more experience with their fighters than the Ukrainians with their F-16s (remember that the Ukrainian Air Force debuted these fighters in 2024). That combat over Kursk is a new example of David defeating Goliath.

Still, the Ukrainian F-16 may have had a little help that could have been decisive in tipping the dogfight in its favor. Last night, Tendar noted: "It is likel that Ukrainian F-16 fighters are already aided by type ASC890 surveillance crafts. Sweden announced to transfer two planes of that AEW&C type back in 2024. Its radar can track targets up to 400 km (250 miles) away."

The ASC-890 Erieye is the active electronically scanned array radar carried by the Saab 340B AEW&C-300, a Swedish-made airborne early warning and control aircraft. As Tendar points out, on May 29, 2024, the Swedish Armed Forces announced the delivery of two of these aircraft to Ukraine, noting the following:

"The ASC 890 provides Ukraine with a completely new capability for airborne radar reconnaissance, command and control against air and sea targets. It strengthens Ukraine's ability to identify and engage targets at long range. The aircraft provides a comprehensive solution that includes training, technical equipment and methodological support for radar reconnaissance and airborne command and control."

In addition to these AEW&C aircraft, in that same military aid package Sweden included Rb 99 air-to-air missiles, the Swedish version of the AIM-120A AMRAAM, which apparently would have been the type of missile used in this combat that resulted in the downing of a Su-35S. At the wrong time, Putin decided to threaten Sweden three years ago to prevent it from joining NATO...

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Main photo: Ukrainian Air Force.