A Danish F-16 pilot was killed after a Russian Iskander-M missile struck a Ukrainian Armed Forces training centre in Ukraine's Dnepropetrovsk Region, according to Russian media reports.
Russian military sources confirmed to TASS News Agency that Jepp Hansen was killed after a Russian missile struck a training centre in the city of Krivoy Rog in Central Ukraine. Hansen who had significant experience operating the F-16, was in Ukraine to train Ukrainian pilots. His friends posted on social media that Hansen had trained "hundreds of Ukrainians" to operate the planes. However, neither Denmark nor the Russian Defense Ministry has officially commented on the reports.
The attack happened at a university building which had been converted into barracks. The attack almost destroyed the fourth storey.
A Danish instructor, Jepp Hansen, who was training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets, has reportedly been killed in a Russian missile strike in Ukraine, according to TASS. Russian law enforcement sources claimed Hansen died in an attack on a training center in Krivoy Rog,… pic.twitter.com/BgaQmwppWu
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) January 19, 2025
Hansen was probably sent to Ukraine by Denmark which delivered 20 F-16s to Ukraine last year. Moscow had already warned NATO against the shipment of weapons, especially the American F-16, citing that the delivery represented an escalation of hostilities.
Close encounter over the Baltic
— Sprinter Observer (@SprinterObserve) June 30, 2024
A Russian pilot flying a Su-27P forced a Danish Air Force F-16 pilot to change course when he attempted to violate Russia's air border over the Baltic Sea.
The video shows a Russian interceptor approaching the intruder from the side and forcing… pic.twitter.com/k7gYoNYGqC
Besides Denmark, the Netherlands also donated F-16 fighters to the Ukrainian Air Force. Both countries procured the F-16s in the 1980s and replaced them recently with modern F-35As, following which they permitted Ukraine to use the fighters for deep strikes across Russian territory.
The first F-16 was delivered to Ukraine on August 1 but Kyiv lost the first F-16 some 26 days later under unclear circumstances. Ukraine has had a lot of limitations in its use, including its short-range, obsolete sensors and lack of long-range weapons.
Despite Ukraine boasting about the jets, touting them as the most advanced fighter jets in their inventory, military experts believe the F-16s provided to Kyiv by its Western partners are outdated models, which meant they are not as capable as Russia’s top combat aircraft.
US Army Maj. Gen. Gordon Davis said the F-16s have “some issues with range and vulnerability” due to their age. Davis added that Russia has "some pretty advanced aircraft" such as the Su-35S, Su-30SM, and the MiG-31, which all pose a significant threat to Kyiv’s F-16s. "Even the best systems we can put on those [old F-16s] will still not make them superior to some of the Russian best aircraft," the former general told Business Insider.
Besides, the Netherlands and Denmark, the United Kingdom is also training the next generation of Ukrainian pilots, who were sent to a European training centre in Romania for theoretical training.
