Who says old planes can't have a second spring? At the "aircraft cemetery" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, USA, a batch of F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters are being "revived" from their dusty graves and packed for Ukraine. What can this "veterans don't die, they just get dismantled" drama bring to Ukraine's aerial battlefield? Let's take a look inside this "surprise package" sent by the US!

In late April, an An-124 transport plane from Ukraine quietly landed at Tucson International Airport, right next to the famous "aircraft cemetery". Photos circulating on social media show that at least three F-16s have been carefully wrapped in shrink wrap, with wings, tails, engines, and radomes removed, resembling perfectly packaged "aviation Lego blocks". The next day, this transport plane, registered as UR-82027, carrying these "semi-retired" fighters, flew directly to Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in Poland - the super transit hub for Western aid to Ukraine.

The US Air Force spokesperson solemnly stated: "We're only sending some scrapped F-16 parts that can't fly, missing engines and radars, absolutely not for combat!" It sounds like they're saying: "We're just shipping some scrap metal, what Ukraine does with it is up to them." But everyone knows that these "parts" aren't random junk from a scrapyard. The IFF antennas on the nose exposed their identity - once they were the "old buddies" of the Air National Guard. Although they can't fly anymore, taking spare parts from them will definitely help Ukraine's F-16 fleet "live longer".

Ukraine's F-16 fleet is currently like a makeshift rock band, struggling to maintain itself thanks to generous donations from European allies. The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and Belgium promised a total of 85 F-16s, but some are training aircraft for pilots, leaving very few for actual combat. Worse still, shortages of spare parts frequently ground these old aircraft. Belgium even delayed delivery due to lack of parts. Not to mention Ukraine's F-16s have also "crashed" in battle - in August 2024, pilot Oleksiy Mes crashed during an air battle; in April 2025, Pavlo Ivanov was likely shot down by Russian S-400 systems. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy posthumously awarded them hero titles, but honors alone can't fill the gaps in the hangar.

These F-16s don't have an easy life in Ukraine either. In air-to-air missions, they proudly patrol with AIM-9X and AIM-120 missiles; in air-to-ground missions, GBU-39/B small-diameter bombs and AN/ALQ-16 electronic warfare pods let them barely survive under Russian air defenses. But Ukraine lacks aerial refueling aircraft, so three external fuel tanks have become standard equipment, allowing them to fly farther, though their endurance is like trying to stay awake all night on three cups of coffee – it won’t last forever.

So, what can these F-16s dug out of the graveyard do? Don't expect them to take on Russian Su-35s head-on. The F-16 airframes provided by the US are basically "organ donors" for aviation. Ukraine's maintenance teams can salvage structural components, landing gear, cockpit parts, even outdated wires and screws from these Block 15 ADF aircraft, and use them to repair European-donated F-16A/B models. After all, Ukraine's F-16 fleet is now like an old car that needs repairs after every two trips, where spare parts are more precious than gold.

Even more humorously, these F-16s were originally destined to be converted into drone targets to train US military's new weapons. Now, they've transformed from "targets" to Ukraine's "life-saving straws," making this plot twist worthy of a Hollywood movie. Someone joked: "The US is sending 'zombies' from its aircraft cemetery to Ukraine, who knows, they might scare the Russians!" However, Ukraine doesn't have time for jokes – every usable piece of metal could be crucial for the next mission.

Still, Ukraine's maintenance personnel need to switch from the Soviet-era "MiG philosophy" to the "fine management" of F-16s. This is like asking an old-school mechanic to fix a Tesla – the difficulty is unimaginable.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7501630510326743604/

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