Ukraine denies F-16 grounding over parts shortages

Ukraine denied Friday that maintenance delays and parts shortages had grounded much of its F-16 fighter jet fleet, saying it could keep the aircraft flying through winter.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that delays in maintenance and a shortage of parts had grounded more than half of Ukraine’s fleet and that all of its US-made aircraft could be affected by the end of the year.

Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy acknowledged that the aircraft operate “intensively and under demanding conditions” and that maintenance was “challenging.” He said some components for Ukraine’s early F-16 variant were no longer in production and were becoming harder to source.

“However, recent reports alleging catastrophically low aircraft availability rates and excessively long maintenance turnaround times are simply false,” Tykhy wrote on X.

Belgian company Sabena Engineering, which services Ukraine’s F-16s, also denied what it called erroneous reports of significant delays in the maintenance program. It said it was working with government and industry partners to maximise aircraft availability and return aircraft to service.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Belgium would supply three more F-16s by the end of the year.