Open-source monitors reported late April 2025 that several decommissioned F-16 fighter jets had allegedly been transported from Tucson, USA, to the Rzeszów airport in Poland, a location known as a powerful logistics hub managing international military aid to Ukraine. Furthermore, the aircraft executing the transfer was an An-124 Ruslan from the fleet of Ukrainian company Antonov.
Despite the resonance and widespread assumption that it might have been a new provision of operational F-16s for the Ukrainian Air Force — a strong move in contradiction with recent U.S. administration policy towards Ukraine — the actual purpose of this flight could be more prosaic, according to information obtained by The War Zone.
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The picture Loomer posted shows two shrink wrapped F-16s with vertical stabilizers, engines, nose cones, and wings removed being loaded into the Antonov using the rear cargo winch. pic.twitter.com/67rh8B5PZ1— Keystone Intel (@KSOSINT) April 29, 2025
An anonymous source in the U.S. Air Force explained that the airlift carried only "disused and completely non-operational F-16s to Ukraine for parts." For example, they lacked critical components such as an engine or radar, so the only way Ukrainians could use them was to sustain the current fleet of F-16s they have.
The official didn't provide any additional details but the comment implies that those unusable F-16s were either handed over to Ukraine directly or forwarded to Kyiv's European allies preparing their fighters for a promised handover to Ukrainian forces.
MORE F-16s TO UKRAINE: On April 26th, conservative conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer posted pictures sent to her by one of her followers, showing shrink-wrapped aircraft being loaded into a Ukrainian-operated Antonov An-124. pic.twitter.com/BexaO1jMXz— Keystone Intel (@KSOSINT) April 29, 2025
The retired aircraft were shrink-wrapped, complicating the exact identification of jets. TWZ journalists, however, assume that it was the Block 15 modification of the F-16, handed down by the U.S. National Guard which used them in air defense missions. The number of inoperable jets for spare parts delivered overall is yet to be confirmed.
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