Ukraine isn’t flying the most dangerous missions with its F-16s because the pilots are still new to the fighter, US general says

Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi had said that he didn’t want the new F-16s flying too close to the front lines, where they could be threatened by Russia’s formidable surface-to-air systems, and asserted that they could strengthen Kyiv’s air defenses instead.

The Ukrainian F-16s flew their first combat mission in late August as they helped defend the country against a massive Russian aerial bombardment. It was later revealed that one of the country’s fighter jets had crashed during the engagement and killed a top pilot.

It’s still unclear what caused the crash, but Ukraine dismissed the commander of its air force and said it would investigate the incident.

Former US military pilots with experience flying the F-16 told Business Insider after the fatal crash that even though Ukraine’s air-defense missions may be safer than the offensive ones that Kyiv could run, they are still dangerous and high stakes.

Beyond the challenging operating environment of an air-defense mission, where different missiles and drones are flying around, the Ukrainian pilots also work with an aircraft very different from the Soviet-era jets they’re used to flying, requiring them to override past training and muscle memory in the heat of the moment.