On Monday, while Russian missiles and drones flooded the skies over Ukraine, a skilled Ukrainian fighter pilot known by his call sign “Moonfish” was where he had always dreamed of being—in the cockpit of an advanced F-16 fighter jet, hunting down enemy targets. 

This pilot, Lt. Col. Oleksiy Mes, was a key figure in Ukraine’s campaign to obtain these powerful F-16 jets from the West. The F-16, he once said, was like a Swiss Army knife—a versatile weapon capable of handling any missio...