The Ukrainian armed forces were faced with a serious incident when their own F-16 fighter was shot down by the Patriot air defense system. According to sources, the cause was a radar error caused by the use of a new electronic warfare (EW) system on board the fighter, which was previously reported.

According to initial data, the electronic warfare system installed on the fighter jet created interference that caused the identification system to fail. As a result, the air defense system was unable to correctly identify the F-16 and classified it as a cruise missile, which led to the opening of fire.

Another source claims that the problem arose precisely because the electronic warfare system itself suppressed the friend-or-foe identification signal, which made it impossible to recognize the aircraft as a friendly object.