Ukrainian F-16 pilots running out of air-to-air missiles, falling back on cannons
Ukraine's F-16 pilots are facing an acute shortage of air-to-air missiles during daytime combat sorties, in some cases engaging Russian aerial targets with the aircraft's 20mm cannon, the commander of Ukraine's 107th Air Wing has warned. The shortfall affects AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles that are also used by NASAMS air defense systems protecting Kyiv.
Key points
- The 107th Air Wing commander, callsign 'Phantom', confirmed pilots are using F-16 cannons because of the missile shortage.
- F-16s normally intercept cruise missiles with AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles; cannon use is a fallback.
- The M61A1 Vulcan 20mm cannon is significantly harder and more dangerous for killing aerial targets, especially at night or against small, slow-moving drones.
- AIM-120s are also the main munition for NASAMS systems protecting Kyiv and other key sites, so the shortfall has cascading effects.
- In May 2025 the Ukrainian Air Force reported a case where a cannon engagement led to the F-16 pilot ejecting.
- Phantom said Ukraine needs more air-to-air missiles, more Patriot interceptors, and increased or localized production.
Why it matters
The missile shortfall directly cuts the combat value of Ukraine's F-16s against the drones and cruise missiles that are now the main daily threat to Ukrainian infrastructure. Because the same AIM-120 rounds feed NASAMS batteries protecting Kyiv and other cities, the shortage ripples across the country's wider air defense. Pilots forced into cannon engagements face sharply higher risk, including documented ejections. Ukraine's public call for additional missiles, more Patriot interceptors, and ramped-up or localized production highlights how dependent its air defenses still are on Western supply chains that have shown limits.
What happened
On 2 September, The War Zone, citing Newsmax journalist Shelby Wilder, reported that Ukrainian F-16 pilots are dealing with a critical shortage of air-to-air missiles during some daytime combat sorties, in some cases using only the aircraft's built-in 20mm M61A1 Vulcan cannon to engage Russian aerial targets. The commander of Ukraine's 107th Air Wing, who uses the callsign 'Phantom', confirmed the shortage and said Ukraine tracks incoming missile batches and counts the hours and minutes until they arrive. The War Zone noted that AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM rounds are also the principal ammunition for NASAMS systems guarding Kyiv and other priority sites, deepening the impact of the shortfall. Phantom said the F-16's main task is protecting infrastructure from Russian drones, with cruise missiles the priority target, and called for additional air-to-air missiles, more Patriot interceptors, and efforts to scale or localize production. In May 2025 the Ukrainian Air Force had already reported one incident in which an F-16 pilot had to eject after using cannon fire to shoot down a target.
Background
Reporting on the shortage was published on 2 September by The War Zone, citing Newsmax journalist Shelby Wilder and a senior Ukrainian Air Force commander known as Phantom, head of the 107th Air Wing. The context is a wider squeeze on Western missile supplies: the Financial Times reported on 5 August that US President Donald Trump turned down a Ukrainian request for several hundred Patriot interceptor missiles, citing limited US stocks and Middle East needs. On 13 August EU High Representative Kaja Kallas asked EU member states holding stored Patriots to send them to Ukraine. On 24 August a figure described as UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he planned to travel to the US in September with other EU leaders to press the case for access to American interceptor stocks before winter. On 25 August President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine had received a small Patriot batch, AIM missiles for NASAMS, and confirmation on Crotale systems.