The US sent decommissioned F-16 fighters to Ukraine – The War Zone (video)

A Ukrainian An-124 aircraft was used for transportation.

The United States of America has sent decommissioned F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine . The aircraft can be used exclusively as spare parts donors.

This was reported by The War Zone , citing footage of partially dismantled fuselages being loaded onto a Ukrainian An-124 transport plane in Arizona. According to on-board trackers, it was headed to Poland.

The US Air Force noted that the States “supported the supply of F-16s donated by the Europeans to Ukraine by providing Ukraine with decommissioned and completely inoperable F-16s for spare parts.” It is noteworthy that it is impossible to restore these aircraft for operational use, as they lack critical components. For example, it could be an engine or radar.

Evidence that the F-16s were headed specifically for Ukraine emerged last week when photos began circulating on social media showing at least three shrink-wrapped F-16s, stripped of their wings, tails and engines, being loaded onto an An-124 aircraft at Tucson International Airport in Arizona. The aircraft, registered UR-82027, landed there on April 25 and took off the next day for Poland’s Rzeszow-Jasionka airport, a hub for Western military aid to Ukraine.

“Evidence indicated that the United States had supplied these aircraft to Ukraine, although there has been no official confirmation of this yet. There was also the possibility that they were intended for use by Poland, perhaps for the supply of spare parts or ground training. Poland is also an F-16 operator, although these aircraft are much more advanced Block 52+ F-16C/Ds compared to the A/B models used by Ukraine,” TWZ adds.

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Airplanes for Ukraine

International partners have transferred several batches of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to counter Russian aggression. The exact number of aircraft transferred is not disclosed.

In addition, the Ukrainian Air Force received the first French Mirage 2000 fighters in February 2025 , as reported by French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu. He did not specify the number of aircraft delivered.

(C)UNIAN 2025