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Tribute to "Juice" - the Ukrainian fighter pilot who longed to fly an F-16 for his country [1]
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Date: 2023-08-28
Scripps News has an article by Jason Bellini about the death last Friday 8-25-23 of Captain Andriy Pilschikov.
Ukrainian fighter pilot "Juice," along with two other air force pilots, died in a two-plane collision Friday.
An ace fighter jet pilot. A fierce advocate for F-16 jets for his country. We can now, for the most tragic of reasons, show the face and share the real name of the Ukrainian airman we met a year ago, who asked us to only identify him by his call sign, "Juice." Captain Andriy Pilschikov, along with two other Ukrainian air force pilots, died in a two-plane collision on Friday. Air force officials say the tragedy happened during a combat mission in a region west of Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelensky, announcing the tragic news, said Juice "helped his country a lot" and will never be forgotten. He said the results of the investigation into the accident involving two l-39 training jets was ongoing.
Czech L-39 Albatros
The article has video from an interview with Pilschikov last year , in which he made a strong case for giving F-16s to Ukraine. He would have been a prime candidate for training to fly them as he was proficient in English. There’s additional video and a bit at the end of his fellow pilots mourning the loss of their comrades.
The L-39 Albatros involved in the collision is a Czech-built advanced jet trainer that can also be used as a light attack aircraft. They are popular performers often seen at air shows in the U.S. While the details of the accident are not clear, Pilschikov described missions where one jet acts as a decoy to draw Russian anti-aircraft missiles, an inherently dangerous mission.
While Captain Pilschikov did not live to see it, the latest news is Ukraine will be receiving 140 F-16s. While they will likely not be involved in dog-fighting Russian aircraft, they’ll be able to deploy Western missiles and other weapons that their Russian designs can’t handle without extensive work arounds.
Ave atque vale Captain Pilschikov.
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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/28/2190095/-Tribute-to-Juice-the-Ukrainian-fighter-pilot-who-longed-to-fly-an-F-16-for-his-country
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