Summary and Key Points You Need To Know: The first U.S.-made F-16 Fighting Falcons are expected to arrive in Ukraine this summer and could be operational by year-end. Russia has threatened to destroy the aircraft, with Russian companies offering cash bounties for downing them. FORES, a Russian oil firm, announced a 15 million ruble reward ($170,000) for the first F-16 destroyed.

-Denmark, the Netherlands, and Greece have pledged to send F-16s to Ukraine.

-The F-16, a mainstay of the U.S. Air Force since the 1970s, is known for its combat radius and weapon payload capacity and is operated by over two dozen nations.

Russia Offers $170,000 Bounty for Downing U.S.-Made F-16s in Ukraine

The first U.S.-made F-16 Fighting Falcons could begin to arrive in Ukraine later this summer and would be able to begin combat operations by the end of the year. Russia has vowed to quickly shoot down the aircraft or destroy them on the ground, and to encourage its forces, this week several Russian companies announced cash prizes will be offered for the successful destruction of any Fighting Falcons.

"There will be rewards for the destruction of F-15 and F-16 combat aircraft. The reward for the first will be 15 million rubles," Ilya Potanin, director of the Russian oil firm FORES, w as quoted by the Russian Ministry of Defense's Telegram channel on Tuesday.

Currently, 15 million rubles is equal to approximately $170,000, Newsweek reported.

This is not the first time the oil company has pledged a bounty for destroyed Western military hardware. Last year it offered five million rubles (around $56,000) for the first destroyed German-made Leopard 2 or American M1 Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs), and two million ($22,500) for the second, as well as 500,000 rubles ($5,600) for each subsequent tank taken out of service.

The Russian rock band Zemlyany also offered a bounty of up to a million rubles for the destruction of a Leopard 2 last year. Of course, that is only around $11,400 – as Zemlyany hasn't exactly reached Rhianna's or Taylor Swift's level of fame or the sizeable bank accounts.

It was last November that a Russian anti-tank unit was awarded 700,000 rubles for destroying the first Leopard 1A5, while in June 2023, a Russian soldier was given one million rubles by a private foundation for destroying the first German-made Leopard 2 in Ukraine. That bonus was allegedly paid for from a fund that had been established by a group of private entrepreneurs, likely in an apparent move to show their unwavering loyalty to the Kremlin.

More F-16s Could Head to Ukraine

Denmark and the Netherlands have pledged to send more than three dozen F-16s to Ukraine, and this week, NATO ally Greece also announced that it will decommission as many as 32 of its Block 30 Fighting Falcons, which could be sold back to the U.S. and then sent to aid Kyiv's war efforts.

As previously reported by The National Interest, the F-16 Fighting Falcon has been a mainstay of the U.S. Air Force since the late 1970s. The fourth-generation jet is noted for its ability to stay in the air longer than enemy near-peers, thanks to its superior combat radius. In addition, the combat aircraft is fitted with nine hardpoints for weapon payloads and can carry the AIM-9 Sidewinder, Raytheon AMRAAM, Raytheon Sparrow, and other air-to-air missiles. Air-to-surface missiles carried on the Fighting Falcon include Shrike, HARM, and Maverick munitions.

The F-16 is now operated by the air forces of more than two dozen nations, and it remains the most common fixed-wing aircraft in military service around the world.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].

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