Ukraine conflict: Long-awaited F-16s arrive in-country, reports say

A graphic released by former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in May 2023 to mark the announcement by US President Joe Biden that F-16s would be sent to Ukraine. Bloomberg and the Associated Press have reported that the first deliveries have now happened. (Crown Copyright)

The first Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft pledged for Ukraine have arrived in the country, according to Western news agencies citing unnamed US officials.

Both Bloomberg and the Associated Press (AP) announced the arrivals on 31 July, basing their reports on comments made by US officials who were speaking on condition of anonymity. The reports are consistent with the previously reported timeline of the first F-16s being delivered to Ukraine ‘in the summer [Q3]'. The US Department of Defense (DoD) was not immediately available to a Janes request for comment at the time of publication.

Neither Bloomberg nor the AP disclosed or said which base these first F-16s had been delivered to, and their planned future operating locations have not been disclosed for security reasons. At the same time as the reports, images appeared on social media purporting to show F-16s over Ukraine. While these images did show F-16s, they were either not possible to geolocate to Ukraine or doubts were raised as to their authenticity.

Ukraine is being gifted surplus F-16AM/BM Block 15 Mid-Life Update (MLU) aircraft and their associated weapons by an international ‘F-16 coalition' of NATO countries that comprises Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.