For the first time in the history of the use of the Fighting Falcon, an F-16 fighter destroyed six Russian cruise missiles in one combat mission, two of them with an aircraft gun, during a large-scale missile and drone attack in December 2024.

Ukraine claims an F-16 was able to gun two Russian missiles after its missiles ran out during a December engagement.

Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine, firing over 90 missiles and nearly 200 drones at the country. The primary target of this strike was Ukraine's energy infrastructure. During the attack, a Ukrainian pilot was on a mission to protect his country from these deadly missiles.