Ukrainian F-16s Claim 4,700 Drone Shootdowns, Mostly With the Gun

Ukraine’s F-16 unit commander put a hard number on the one-way attack drone campaign at IFC26 in Munich on Nov. 5.

The 107th Separate Aviation Wing, he said, has scored 4,700 OWA shootdowns. Most came from the jet’s internal gun. October alone accounted for 1,100.

The officer, callsign “Phantom,” was quoted from the session by Gareth Jennings of Janes. Craig Hoyle of FlightGlobal reported the same figure that day.

Gun Over Missiles

Phantom summed up the method in blunt terms. “The tactics are simple – just get in range and shoot the gun!” he said.

The weapon is the F-16’s M61A1 Vulcan 20 mm rotary cannon. Its effective range is roughly 1 to 1.5 km or more.

Ukraine has increasingly turned to F-16 cannons as jet-powered one-way attack drones outrun slower interceptors and ground fire.

The choice is driven by scarcity. Stocks of AIM-9 and AIM-120 missiles are limited and are also required for NASAMS.

Jets therefore often fly with minimal missile loads, or none. Using the cannon preserves those missiles for other targets.

Reported Sortie Records

The commander also described individual sorties. These accounts rest on his conference statements.

No independent video confirmation has surfaced.

One pilot reportedly downed eight drones in a single sortie, firing 400 rounds and landing with 100 remaining.

Days later, the same pilot reportedly raised the record to nine drones, returning with 80 rounds.

A younger pilot initially failed to score, reportedly “made holes in the sky and hit nothing.” After simulator training, he downed five.

Ammunition Demand and Risk

Consumption is high. Reporting cites roughly 150 rounds per drone kill.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has referred to daily use in the thousands of rounds.

Denmark recently delivered more than 50,000 rounds of 20 mm ammunition on an expedited basis.

Poland’s recent package of two MiG-29 fighters also included F-16 cannon rounds.

Close-range gun engagements expose aircraft to debris and engine ingestion. Spent rounds can also fall over populated areas.

A Different Scope

The 4,700 tally refers specifically to OWA drones attributed to F-16s.

It is separate from a U.K. Ministry of Defence figure of more than 4,700 drones and missiles destroyed in September by all Ukrainian air defenses.

It also extends an earlier official baseline from late September 2026.

Air Force commander Lt Gen Anatolii Kryvonozhko said F-16 pilots had downed more than 3,150 aerial targets.

That total covered 666 cruise missiles and about 2,500 UAVs, plus more than 650 ground strikes.

Sustainment as Binding Constraint

Despite the kill figures, Phantom identified fleet sustainment as the greatest challenge facing the Ukrainian Air Force.

Pledged F-16s from the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Belgium approach about 100 aircraft.

Ready aircraft have at times been well below 40. Roughly half the fleet is frequently in Europe for repair and maintenance.

Zelenskyy has pushed to move maintenance, repair and overhaul work into Ukraine.

The F-16s in service are Block 15 MLU variants from European donors. The 107th Separate Aviation Wing, formed in 2024, is their primary operator.

Two Types, Not More

That pressure shapes the unit’s view on future procurement.

According to Jennings’s follow-up, the unit proposed limiting the air force to two platforms.

Those are the F-16, which Phantom called “the best in my opinion,” and the Gripen. A Gripen contract has already been signed.

President Zelenskyy has unveiled major fighter jet deals covering Gripens and other Western types.

Ukraine currently also flies Mirage 2000-5s. Gripen C/D aircraft are planned, with E/F models to follow.

The Rafale is under negotiation, with initial batches potentially arriving from 2028. Adding the French jet “definitely will be difficult,” the commander said.