A Ukrainian-operated Antonov An-124 Ruslan cargo aircraft has successfully delivered F-16 fighter jet fuselages from the United States to a key NATO logistics hub in Poland, likely as part of ongoing preparations to strengthen Ukraine’s air force capabilities.
The large aircraft transported the F-16 fuselages from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona to Rzeszów, Poland, according to open-source intelligence shared by Keystone Intel. Davis-Monthan is the world’s largest military aircraft storage facility and houses decommissioned jets, many of which are used for spare parts or converted for further use.
The Antonov Airlines aircraft involved in the operation was the An-124 “Be Brave Like Kharkiv,” registration number UR-82027. It flew into Tucson International Airport on 25 April 2025 before making the short journey to Davis-Monthan. The fuselages were then loaded and flown to Poland, a key staging point for Western military assistance to Ukraine.
Images released by HAULPRO TRANSPORT LLC show the F-16 airframes being wrapped in protective film before shipment, a common practice for transporting sensitive aviation equipment by air or sea. Notably, the fuselages appear to belong to the ADF version of the F-16, previously used by U.S. National Guard units and retired from service in the early 2000s.
Some of the aircraft featured the APX-113 Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) antenna on the nose, which is unique to the ADF interceptor variant. While these aircraft are no longer in operational service with any country, analysts believe they could be used by Ukraine either as donor platforms for parts or as decoys to confuse Russian defences.
There has been growing speculation that the ADF fuselages could support Ukraine’s expanding fleet of operational F-16s, recently deployed for strike missions against Russian ground positions. Ukrainian pilots have reportedly begun using Western-supplied precision-guided bombs such as the SDB and JDAM-ER during sorties.
