Former US F-16 Pilot Disparages the Russian Su-35 as an Ineffective Combat Aircraft.

KIEV – A former United States (US) F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet pilot mocked the Su-35 fighter jet which he considered trash if the two aircraft were compared.

“The Su-35 is a typical Russian machine that looks good, but deep down, it’s not a good plane,” retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Dan Hampton told Voice of Americawhich was launched on Saturday (18/3/2023).

“It looks good at the air show, but my personal opinion is trash,” he said.

Both the Su-35 and F-16 are multi-role fighters, mostly single-seat.

Russia’s Su-35s have been used in Moscow’s war against Kiev, but NATO-standard F-16 fast jets have yet to take to the skies over Ukraine.

The US has so far rejected repeated requests from Kiev to send F-16 fighter jets.

Earlier this week, Poland confirmed it would send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, and on Friday, Slovakia said 13 MiG-29 fighter jets would arrive in Ukraine.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said; “The Warsaw decision does not change our calculations with respect to the F-16.”