According to an Air Force spokesperson, the gift of the derelict planes “has supported the sustainment of European-donated F-16s to Ukraine.”
Last week, pictures emerged of disassembled F-16 Viper fighters being loaded onto a Antonov Airlines An-124 at the Tucson International Airport, not far from the “boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base where decommissioned military aircraft are stored. Now, the Air Force has confirmed that the F-16s have been donated to Ukraine to supply their fleet of F-16s with spare parts.
According to an Air Force spokesperson, the donation “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 U.S. use and are not flyable. Importantly, they lack critical components such as an engine or radar and could not be reconstituted for operational use.”
The West Is Struggling to Sustain the Ukrainian F-16 Fleet
As the Air Force spokesperson mentioned, the F-16s were without engine or radar—or, for that matter, vertical stabilizers, nose cones, or wings. In short, the birds would never fly again.
And while the Air Force was forthright about the non-operational F-16s being donated to Ukraine, it would not disclose exactly which F-16 variants were being donated. Given that the F-16s were shrink-wrapped, internet sleuths will not able to discern which variant either—although The War Zone surmised that, because of the IFF antennas on the nose, the F-16s were likely older Block 15 Air Defense Fighter (ADF) variants formerly stationed with Air National Guard units.
Before the Air Force confirmed that the F-16 shipment was for Ukraine, some speculation held that it might have been intended for Poland instead. Flight tracking showed that the An-124 that accepted the F-16s took off from Tucson on April 26 and landed at Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport in Poland. Of course, that airport is an important hub for transporting western-supplied aid to Ukraine; but Poland is also a key operator of the F-16 and could have used the parts for its own readiness.
Instead, the jets will head to Ukraine, who has now been promised 85 operational F-16s from Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Norway. Notably, “while the [non-functional] airframes provided by the United States won’t add to this flyable total, they will nevertheless deliver a significant boost when it comes to supporting Ukraine’s growing Viper fleet,” The War Zone reported. “The U.S. has not been interested in directly supplying Ukraine with flyable F-16s, but that could always change at some point.”
Sustaining the Ukrainian’s F-16 fleet may become increasingly difficult. F-16 stocks are dwindling, even within the United States. At the boneyard, where the donated decommissioned F-16s came from, fewer than four hundred F-16s remain in storage, many of which are not capable of ever flying again. Ukraine’s need for spare parts for their growing fleet of F-16s, will be a constant problem moving forward.
And in addition to the need for spare parts, the Ukrainians will of course have to contend with attrition; the Ukrainians have already lost at least two F-16 fighters and their pilots. The F-16s donated last week will help ameliorate the problem—but certainly will not solve it.
About the Author: Harrison Kass
Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the U.S. Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
