The U.S. Air Force has confirmed it is sending retired F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine not for combat, but to serve as sources of spare parts.
A spokesperson told The War Zone that the aircraft “were retired from active U.S. use and are not flyable,” and are being transferred “for parts” to help maintain Ukraine’s fleet of European-donated F-16s.
According to TWZ, the jets were pulled from long-term storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, known as the “boneyard” and loaded onto a Ukrainian-chartered Antonov An-124 cargo plane at Tucson International Airport on April 26. Flight records show the plane flew to Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in Poland, a key transit point for military aid to Ukraine.
Evidence of F-16s being transported emerged last week, when photos began circulating on social media showing at least three shrink-wrapped jets, missing their wings, tails, engines, and radomes, being loaded onto an Antonov Airlines An-124 cargo aircraft.
While confirming the details of this, I found further pictures posted online by a local transportation company showing a third wrapped F-16 at Davis-Monthan and being loaded into the Antonov An-124. pic.twitter.com/xKCTAPxX03
— Keystone Intel (@KSOSINT) April 29, 2025
The parts reportedly come from the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, which stores nearly 4,000 retired U.S. military aircraft. The dry desert climate preserves planes in good condition for years, allowing parts to be reused later.
Analysts noted that the jets being shipped appear to be older models, possibly Block 15 Air Defense Fighters previously flown by the Air National Guard. These models are compatible in many ways with the F-16A/B versions Ukraine is receiving.
“For Ukraine, these parts are critical to maintaining its small but growing fleet of F-16s, donated by countries like the Netherlands and Denmark,” the Bulgarian Military noted in its report.
As of late 2023, the U.S. military’s aircraft boneyard housed 150 F-16A, 27 F-16B, 143 F-16C, and 22 F-16D airframes, many of which are no longer airworthy.
