The F-16 Fighting Falcon is the most widely produced lightweight fighter aircraft in the world. As of 2018, a total of 4,604 units had been built, and it was operated by the air forces of more than 30 countries. The aircraft was developed in 1974 by General Dynamics and was notable for its high degree of standardization in parts, assemblies, and systems. Over the course of its service, the F-16 has undergone several upgrades, allowing it to remain in the military aviation fleets of many countries around the world. Since August 2024, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has also received multirole F-16 fighters. It is known that Ukrainian F-16s can employ AIM-9 and AIM-120 missiles, as well as precision-guided bombs such as the SDB, JDAM-ER, and GBU-39. One of the key features of the Ukrainian F-16s is their use of ECIPS+ electronic countermeasure pods designed to disrupt enemy radar systems. The first reports of Ukrainian Air Force F-16s being deployed appeared in late August 2024, when the aircraft participated as air defense fighters in repelling a large-scale missile and drone attack. In the winter of 2025, it became known that these aircraft had also begun conducting strikes on ground targets using GBU-39 precision bombs.
