A company based in the Urals, called Fores, has made a bold offer: they will give 15 million rubles (around $149,000) to the first Russian soldier who successfully shoots down a US-made F-16 fighter jet. This offer comes after reports that the Russian military may have already downed one such aircraft earlier this week.
Vladimir Rogov, a Russian official and co-chair of the Coordinating Council for the Integration of New Regions, claimed that the Russian military shot down an F-16 jet supplied to Ukraine. He said the jet was preparing to launch a missile strike when it was taken down by Russian forces. However, the Russian Ministry of Defense has not yet officially confirmed this.
The CEO of Fores, Sergey Shmotyev, explained that the reward is a way of supporting the soldiers who put their lives on the line to protect Russia. “We are proud of the bravery of our soldiers and will continue to help them,” Shmotyev said in a statement. Fores is no stranger to offering rewards for downing Western-made weapons. Earlier in the war, the company offered 5 million rubles (about $50,000) to the first person who destroyed a German Leopard or an American Abrams tank. To date, Fores says it has paid out this reward eight times.
Fores, which is known for supplying equipment, humanitarian aid, and funding training programs for the Russian military, has contributed more than 230 million rubles (roughly $2.2 million) since the start of the conflict in February 2022.
This move has caught attention, especially since the F-16 is an advanced jet and the reward is substantial. If the Russian military has indeed downed one, it would be the first confirmed loss of an F-16 in the ongoing conflict, signaling the growing role of cutting-edge weaponry in the battle.
While some European NATO countries have sent F-16s to Ukraine, these jets have only been deployed in small numbers. Back in August, an F-16 was reportedly used to intercept a Russian missile attack, but it was accidentally shot down by a NATO-supplied Patriot air defense system.
In response to the West’s ongoing arms shipments to Ukraine, Russia has warned that sending more advanced weapons, like the F-16, will only drag out the conflict and escalate tensions without changing the outcome. The announcement of this reward adds a new, high-stakes element to the already complex situation, as both sides gear up for more intense battles using advanced military technology.
