Turkey says it deployed six F-16 fighter jets, air defence systems to northern Cyprus

March 9, 2026 2:49 PM

Turkey says it deployed six F-16 fighter jets, air defence systems to northern Cyprus

Turkey on Monday deployed six F-16 fighter jets and air defence systems to northern Cyprus to boost the security of the Turkish community there amid the war in Iran, the defence ministry said, adding that Ankara would take additional measures if needed. European powers have moved to ramp up military deployments to the ethnically-split island in recent days, after an Iranian drone, which security officials believe was fired by Hezbollah, an ally of Iran in Lebanon, hit the British Akrotiri air b...

Ukraine F-16 crashes, pilot dies repelling Russian strike

August 30, 2024 12:09 PM

Ukraine F-16 crashes, pilot dies repelling Russian strike

One of Ukraine's F-16 fighter jets crashed while repelling a major Russian attack on Monday, Kyiv's military said, the first such loss reported since the long-awaited arrival of the U.S.-made planes this month. The jet came down and its pilot died while it was approaching a Russian target, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Thursday on Facebook. The F-16s had "demonstrated high efficiency" and downed four Russian cruise missiles, it added. Ukraine said Russia launched more than 200 missil...

Taiwan deploys jets, mobile air defence system to monitor China drills

May 24, 2024 1:33 PM

Taiwan deploys jets, mobile air defence system to monitor China drills

Taiwan’s defence forces deployed F-16 fighter jets, a mobile air defence system and a surveillance drone to monitor and shadow China’s drills around the island, footage released on Friday (May 24) showed. The two days of drills in the Taiwan Strait and around groups of Taiwan-controlled islands near the Chinese coast, which a Taiwanese official said included the mock bombing of foreign vessels, started just three days after new President Lai Ching-te took office. Taiwan has condemned China'...