Poland is considering the possibility of maintaining Ukrainian fighter jets. This includes both Soviet MiG-29s and American F-16s, which were transferred to Ukraine by partners as part of the Fighter Jet Coalition. This was announced by Adam Leszkiewicz, President of the Management Board at Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ).
"Today we are also discussing support, repairs, and maintenance for the Ukrainian F-16 and MiG-29 aircraft provided to Ukraine by our partners," Leszkiewicz noted in an interview with Ukrinform.
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It remains unclear what stage the negotiations have reached, what the terms might be, and what position the Ukrainian side has taken on the issue.
This information emerged as Poland once again stated that it would not transfer additional MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, a point recently emphasized by the country's Minister of Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
Poland has again accused Ukraine of failing to meet the terms of a proposed deal that would have seen Warsaw transfer older MiG-29 fighter jets in exchange for drone technology. It involved up to nine aircraft.
Poland had previously transferred 14 MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. At the same time, discussions were underway about the possible transfer of nine of the 14 aircraft still remaining in service. Overall, a deal exchanging old aircraft for drone technology does not appear particularly beneficial for Ukraine, as details remain unclear. It is also uncertain how many of the nine Polish aircraft are combat-ready and how many would serve only as sources of spare parts. Therefore, it is difficult to draw any concrete conclusions.
Details would be of interest, as Leszkiewicz also mentioned the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Ukrainian company TAF Industries, emphasizing potential cooperation in the field of drones and expressing hopes for both production agreements and technology transfer.
In the context of fighter jet maintenance, it is worth noting that since 2018, the Romanian company Aerostar Bacău has served as the maintenance center for F-16 fighter jets. It is currently capable of servicing six aircraft simultaneously and plans to expand its capacity.
Romania, however, retired its MiG-29s in 2003, and there is currently no possibility of returning them to service. In 2022, the possibility of transferring these aircraft to Ukraine was discussed, but they were not in a combat-ready condition.
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