There is a substantial reward for the first Russian soldier to destroy a US-made F-16 fighter jet, which Western nations are about to provide to Kiev, FORES, a private company announced. 

FORES, a manufacturer of ceramic proppants, has previously offered bounties for Western equipment destroyed by the Russian military.

The US, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands have pledged to supply the Ukrainian military with at least 60 F-16s by the end of this year. In early July, the Dutch government announced that the transfer of the first jets from a batch of 24 was imminent.

“There will be a reward for destroying the F-15 and F-16 fighter jets,” FORES's deputy CEO, Ilya Potanin, said in a video published by the Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday.

The bounty for the first downed aircraft will amount to 15 million rubles ($170,000), the executive stated, adding that such plans were confirmed by his company CEO at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) earlier this summer.

Bounties to down Western provided F-16s

Ukraine stressed it needs F-16s to defend against Russian long-range missiles and to challenge Moscow’s air superiority on the frontline.

Moscow claims F-16s will not change the war's outcome, just as other Western weapons have failed to do. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated earlier this year that the Russian military would destroy the planes, as it has done with other Ukrainian hardware.

The decision by Washington and its allies to provide Ukraine with Western-made heavy armor in early 2023, such as US-made Abrams tanks and German-made Leopard tanks, prompted Russian businesses and officials to offer rewards for capturing or destroying this equipment on the frontline.

FORES Deputy CEO Potanin stated that the company has issued these bounties on seven occasions.

FORES rewards 

Recently, FORES rewarded Russian soldiers and officers from various units, including artillery and drone warfare, for destroying "some 17 Abrams and Leopards." Each serviceman received 500,000 rubles ($5641) per piece of equipment.

The soldiers and officers, also recorded by the Defense Ministry receiving their rewards, described the Western heavy equipment pieces as "routine" targets for their operations. They added that the money they received would be invested in acquiring new equipment to improve their battlefield effectiveness.

In March, Russian soldiers recorded a video, in which one of them mockingly thanked US President Joe Biden for supplying Kiev with Abrams tanks and allowing the Russian troops to earn some extra cash by destroying them. The man also asked Biden to send even more heavy armor pieces to Ukraine, adding that there are currently not enough for each Russian serviceman to get their bonus.