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Ukrainian lawmaker Maryana Bezuglaya has claimed, "According to my information, the F-16 of Ukrainian pilot Oleksiy 'Moonfish' Mes was shot down by a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system due to discoordination between units".<ref>Ukrainian National News (2024-08-29). "MP: F-16 of Ukrainian pilot Oleksiy Mes was probably shot down by Patriot missile system due to lack of coordination"
Ukrainian lawmaker Maryana Bezuglaya has claimed, "According to my information, the F-16 of Ukrainian pilot Oleksiy 'Moonfish' Mes was shot down by a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system due to discoordination between units".<ref>Ukrainian National News (2024-08-29). "MP: F-16 of Ukrainian pilot Oleksiy Mes was probably shot down by Patriot missile system due to lack of coordination"
https://unn.ua/en/news/mp-f-16-of-ukrainian-pilot-oleksiy-mes-was-probably-shot-down-by-patriot-missile-system-due-to-lack-of-coordination</ref> <ref>Gulf Insider (2024-08-29). "Ukrainian Army Shoots Down Its Own F16 Jet, Pilot Killed"
https://unn.ua/en/news/mp-f-16-of-ukrainian-pilot-oleksiy-mes-was-probably-shot-down-by-patriot-missile-system-due-to-lack-of-coordination</ref><ref>Gulf Insider (2024-08-29). "Ukrainian Army Shoots Down Its Own F16 Jet, Pilot Killed"
https://www.gulf-insider.com/ukrainian-army-shoots-down-its-pilot-killed</ref> <ref>Voice of America (2024-08-29). "Zelenskyy fires Air Force chief following F-16 crash"
https://www.gulf-insider.com/ukrainian-army-shoots-down-its-pilot-killed</ref><ref>Voice of America (2024-08-29). "Zelenskyy fires Air Force chief following F-16 crash"
https://www.voanews.com/a/zelenskyy-fires-air-force-chief-following-f-16-crash/7766016.html</ref> <ref>VT Uncensored Foreign Policy (2024-08-30). "NATO first F-16 Fighter SHOT by FRIENDLY FIRE with US-made Patriot"
https://www.voanews.com/a/zelenskyy-fires-air-force-chief-following-f-16-crash/7766016.html</ref><ref>VT Uncensored Foreign Policy (2024-08-30). "NATO first F-16 Fighter SHOT by FRIENDLY FIRE with US-made Patriot"
https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2024/08/stunning-first-f-16-fighter-lost-due-to-friendly-fire-ukrainian-lawmaker-said/</ref>
https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2024/08/stunning-first-f-16-fighter-lost-due-to-friendly-fire-ukrainian-lawmaker-said/</ref>


Revision as of 09:39, 1 September 2024

Oleksii Mes
Nickname(s)Moonfish (Мунфіш)
Born(1993-10-20)20 October 1993
Shepetivka, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Ukraine[1]
Died26 August 2024(2024-08-26) (aged 30)
AllegianceUkraine Ukraine
Service / branch Ukrainian Air Force
Battles / warsRusso-Ukrainian War

Oleksii Mes (20 October 1993[2] – 26 August 2024) was a Ukrainian fighter pilot with the call sign "Moonfish" of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He died while defending Ukraine when his F-16 crashed during the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Biography

As of June 2022, Moonfish was the commander of a squadron of Ukrainian MiG-29 fighters.[3]

In August 2023, Moonfish started a training course in the United Kingdom with plans to eventually fly an F-16.[4]

Advocacy efforts

In June 2022, Moonfish visited the US with another Ukrainian pilot, call sign Juice, to lobby for F-16s for Ukraine.[5] They met with several US lawmakers and explained which modern weapons systems were needed most in Ukraine.[6] Sean Penn accompanied the pilots in some of the meetings, to amplify their message.[7] The pilots met with Adam Kinzinger in his office in Washington, D.C.[8] As a result, Kinzinger introduced the Ukraine Fighter Pilots Act to the United States House of Representatives on June 17, 2022. The bill was cosponsored by other congressmembers.[9][10][11][12]

F-16 involvement

After months of advocacy to ensure F-16s for Ukraine, Moonfish was among the first Ukrainian pilots to start F-16 training in the US. He gave an extensive interview to Ukrainian TV describing the process.[13] In the Fall of 2023, his training advanced from a simulator cockpit to actual F-16 airframes.[14]

Death

While "repelling the biggest ever aerial attack" on Monday August 26, 2024, Moonfish was killed when his F-16 crashed.[15]

A special commission from the Ministry of Defense has been established to determine the cause of the accident and is currently working in the area where the plane went down.

Ukrainian lawmaker Maryana Bezuglaya has claimed, "According to my information, the F-16 of Ukrainian pilot Oleksiy 'Moonfish' Mes was shot down by a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system due to discoordination between units".[16][17][18][19]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Уродженець Шепетівки загинув у небі: у засвіти провели пілота Олексія Меся". Сайт міста Шепетівка. 2024-08-29.
  2. ^ "Захищаючи Вітчизну, загинув перший український пілот F-16 Олексій Месь «Мунфіш»". Новинарня. 2024-08-29.
  3. ^ "F-16 мають замінити втрачені українські винищувачі". Ukrmilitary. 2022-06-22.
  4. ^ Ілля Нежигай (2023-08-20). "При відборі враховували вік, досвід та знання англійської: пілот ЗСУ розповів про навчання на F-16". Факти.
  5. ^ Johnson, Kimberly (June 27, 2022). "Ukrainian Pilots Visit U.S. To Lobby for Fighter Jets". Flying Magazine.
  6. ^ McFall, Caitlin (June 24, 2022). "Top Gun Ukrainian pilots push US for jets, senator says lawmakers will 'press the case' with White House". Fox News.
  7. ^ "Sean Penn helps Ukrainian fighter pilots lobby for US aid". MSN. June 25, 2022.
  8. ^ "The Air Force has selected a group of pilots to train with Western fighter jets". Militarnyi. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  9. ^ Gillespie, Maura (2022-06-17). "Kinzinger & Houlahan Introduce Ukraine Fighter Pilots Act". kinzinger.house.gov. Archived from the original on 2022-06-17.
  10. ^ Kinzinger, Adam (2022-06-16). "To authorize appropriations to provide assistance and training to Ukrainian pilots, and for other purposes" (PDF). kinzinger.house.gov (bill). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-06-17.
  11. ^ Kinzinger, Adam (2022-06-17). "H.R.8144 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Ukrainian Fighter Pilots Act". congress.gov.
  12. ^ Malyasov, Dylan (2022-06-23). "Congressmen introduce bill to train Ukrainian fighter pilots". Defence Blog.
  13. ^ "First Ukrainian Pilot on F-16 (TV interview transcript)". novynarnia.com. September 29, 2023.
  14. ^ Markina-Tarasova, Daria (November 20, 2023). "A 'Swiss Army knife' for the skies: Ukrainian army pilot races to get to grips with F-16 jet". CNN.
  15. ^ Kottasová, Daria Tarasova-Markina, Ivana (2024-08-29). "Exclusive: Top Ukrainian pilot killed when US-made F-16 fighter jet crashed". CNN. Retrieved 2024-08-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Ukrainian National News (2024-08-29). "MP: F-16 of Ukrainian pilot Oleksiy Mes was probably shot down by Patriot missile system due to lack of coordination" https://unn.ua/en/news/mp-f-16-of-ukrainian-pilot-oleksiy-mes-was-probably-shot-down-by-patriot-missile-system-due-to-lack-of-coordination
  17. ^ Gulf Insider (2024-08-29). "Ukrainian Army Shoots Down Its Own F16 Jet, Pilot Killed" https://www.gulf-insider.com/ukrainian-army-shoots-down-its-pilot-killed
  18. ^ Voice of America (2024-08-29). "Zelenskyy fires Air Force chief following F-16 crash" https://www.voanews.com/a/zelenskyy-fires-air-force-chief-following-f-16-crash/7766016.html
  19. ^ VT Uncensored Foreign Policy (2024-08-30). "NATO first F-16 Fighter SHOT by FRIENDLY FIRE with US-made Patriot" https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2024/08/stunning-first-f-16-fighter-lost-due-to-friendly-fire-ukrainian-lawmaker-said/
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