US sends decommissioned F-16s to Ukraine for spare parts

The US Air Force has sent decommissioned F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to be used for spare parts for the combat aircraft already supplied by European partners.

Source: The War Zone (TWZ), a defence and military technology news outlet

Quote from a US Air Force spokesperson: "The Department of the Air Force has supported the sustainment of European-donated F-16s to Ukraine by providing disused and completely non-operational F-16s to Ukraine for parts. These F-16s were retired from active US use and are not flyable. Importantly, they lack critical components such as an engine or radar and could not be reconstituted for operational use."

Details: The F-16s, shrink-wrapped and missing key components such as wings, tails, engines and nose cones, were loaded onto an An-124 cargo plane, registration number UR-82027, which departed from Tucson International Airport in Arizona on 26 April for Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in Poland, a key logistical hub for Western aid to Ukraine.

TWZ notes that the fuselages came from what is known as the aircraft boneyard – the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson.

In early April, General Christopher Cavoli, Commander of US European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told the US Senate that additional F-16s were being prepared for Ukraine, but he did not disclose the sources.

Quote: "In all, around 85 operational F-16s have now been promised to Ukraine, which include 24 from the Netherlands, 19 from Denmark, and 12 from Norway (with the same country providing 10 more that will be used for spare parts), while Belgium says it will supply 30.

Of this grand total, it should be noted that at least some of the jets are not being sent to Ukraine but are instead being used for training Ukrainian pilots, primarily at the European F-16 Training Center (EFTC) in Romania."

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