Nearly two months after Ukraine's first batch of Western fighter jets arrived in the war-torn country, U.S.-made F-16s have remained largely under the radar, quietly helping provide much-needed air defense.

In recent days, unconfirmed reports said a Ukrainian F-16 destroyed one of Russia's Su-34 fighter jets. Newsweek has asked the Kiev Air Force and the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.

But despite the pomp with which the F-16s took to Ukrainian skies, relatively little has been heard about the first few jets now in Ukrainian hands.

Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis announced at the end of July that the jets had arrived. A few days later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky officially confirmed that the jets would be used by the Kiev Air Force. He did not say how many planes had been delivered and operational, but estimates suggest about a dozen have arrived in recent months.

Denmark and the Netherlands have confirmed that they have sent first batches of F-16s to Ukraine. More jets from both countries will be on the way in the next few months, officials said. Norway and Belgium have also promised Ukraine F-16 aircraft.

Ukraine has lost at least one F-16 that crashed in late August. The pilot, whom Kiev described as Lt. Col. Oleksiy Mes, died while “repelling a massive Russian combined air and missile attack,” the Ukrainian air force said.

Ukrainian army chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said Mes “launched two missiles and only attacked, pursuing the third cruise missile with onboard weapons.”

“Unfortunately we have lost one of them,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in late August, referring to the F-16s donated by Denmark.

But the incidents are among the few publicly acknowledged rumors about the use of the F-16 against Russian forces, although the head of the Dutch military, General Otto Eichelsheim, called the jets delivered by the Netherlands in late August a “good job.”

Ukraine's current F-16 fleet “may not be so numerous and competitive” when compared to Russia's fighter jets, “but this is just the beginning,” said former Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk.

“If we want Ukraine to be able to compete effectively against Russia, it must have competitive fighter aircraft,” Zagorodnyuk said. “We cannot develop a strategy or campaign plan to fight Russia without an air force.”

“The key element in this matter is that Ukraine switches to NATO weapons and therefore to NATO doctrines and concepts,” Zagorodnyuk said Newsweek on Monday.

It's still early for the jets, added retired air marshal Greg Bagwell, a former commander in chief of Britain's Royal Air Force.

Ukraine likely took a “cautious approach,” Bagwell said NewsweekHe added that this was “understandable since they know they will be a target.”

A senior Ukrainian commander said in June that Kiev would base some of its F-16s outside the country to avoid Russian attacks on the fourth-generation planes. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian soldiers had been offered rewards for shooting down F-16 aircraft.

Ukraine's F-16s have largely been used for air defense in recent weeks.

“The F-16s will have made a relatively unspectacular but very useful contribution to operations,” particularly in air defense, said David Jordan, lecturer in defense studies and co-director of the Freeman Air and Space Institute at King's College London.

It makes sense for Ukraine to use its few F-16s for air defense and countering drone and missile attacks while it waits for more deliveries and Ukrainian personnel get used to the jets, Jordan said Newsweek: “This doesn’t mean being timid, but rather being very sensible while waiting for the force size to build up.”

Particularly problematic for Ukraine is Moscow's relentless glide bombing campaign, which involves launching highly destructive bombs from beyond the reach of Ukrainian air defenses.

Zelensky said on Sunday that Russia had used more than 900 guided bombs against Ukraine in just one week. Kiev could use its F-16s to attack Russian aircraft that fire these bombs.

Ukraine could use its Soviet fighter jets such as its Su-24, Su-25 and MiG-29 to launch further offensive operations, while the F-16s largely remain behind for now, Jordan said. Although Ukraine is capable of launching long-range strikes, it still makes sense for Ukraine to keep its F-16s and let the Western fighters take over at a later date.

Using F-16s for air defense helps ease some of the pressure on Ukraine's scarce inventory of ground-based air defense systems, added James Black, deputy director for defense and security research at the European branch of the RAND think tank.

F-16-launched weapons, such as the AIM-9X Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missile or the AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile, “can be used more cost-effectively against specific incoming aircraft targets,” Black said Newsweek.

“This means the F-16 could represent a flexible and economical new tool for Ukraine’s air defense network,” Black added.

F-16s are the most significant aid pledge from Kiev's Western backers, which received the green light from the US in August 2023. For Ukraine's tired and battered air force, the jets – even in small numbers – are a boon compared to Russia's superior and larger fleet. But F-16s are not groundbreaking, especially when Ukraine has relatively few aircraft in service.

“A small number of aircraft will not immediately make a big difference, even carrying a range of missiles, and must be used judiciously,” Jordan said. “From what we’ve seen so far, that’s what the UkAF (Ukrainian Air Force) is doing.”