Summary
- Ukraine will base some F-16s in other countries.
- F-16s will be a reserve for faulty planes or maintenance.
- Ukraine will only operate a small number of older F-16s initially.
The first European-supplied F-16 fighter jets are expected to arrive in Ukraine in the coming weeks (possibly at the end of June or in July). Ukrainian Brigadier General Serhiy Holubtsov, the Ukrainian Air Force Chief of Aviation, confirmed in an interview that Ukraine will keep some of its F-16s in bases outside of Ukraine. The announcement comes as Ukrainian efforts to degrade and destroy Russian air defense assets in Ukraine appear to be picking up steam. Some have suggested the destruction of Russia’s S-300/S-400 systems is preparing the way for the F-16s to strike into occupied Crimea.
Ukraine confirms plans to base some F-16s in 3rd countries
When discussing the war in Ukraine and the ongoing air war, it is important to keep in mind that there is a very thick fog of war. So much is unclear (much may not be clear until the end of the war). Preston Stewart, a former US army officer, stated that Ukraine would unlikely be using foreign bases operationally. It is unlikely Ukraine would take off from third-party bases to strike Russian targets. More likely, they would be kept there for maintenance or when they are not being actively used.
Photo: Lockheed Martin
“When there will be more pilots – there will be more planes in Ukraine.” – Ukrainian Air Force
The Ukrainian Chief of Aviation confirmed this by saying that the F-16s in third countries “will be our reserve in case of need for replacement of faulty planes during routine maintenance.” According to the Kyiv Post, he went on to say that the number of aircraft they have in operational inventory will correspond to the number of pilots Ukraine has. Having enough trained pilots has been an acute bottleneck for the Ukrainian Air Force.
It is unclear which countries will host the Ukrainian F-16s (Poland and Romania seem likely candidates). The calculus is that Russia will be unlikely to strike into third (likely NATO) countries.

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Only a modest number of older F-16s
It should also be noted that Ukraine is only going to receive a comparatively small number of F-16s (and they are older variants). According to the Oryx blog, around 95 F-16s have been pledged in total. However, this number includes non-functional aircraft delivered as spares. The full amount will not be delivered until 2028. It is suggested that Ukraine may only be operating 4-6 F-16s at any one time for the first while.
This means that, in practice, Ukraine is likely to only have a comparatively small number of older F-16s operational. For comparison, the US Air Force requested to retire 93 F-15s and F-16s in fiscal year 2025 alone.
In a surprise move, France has just announced they, too, will be sending Western fighter jets to Ukraine by the end of the year (an unspecified number of Mirage 2000-5s). In a double-surprise move, Argentina is reportedly sending five non-operational French-made navy Super-Étendard back to France for refurbishment before being sent to Ukraine. Before the French announcement, Sweden said they were pausing plans to send Swedish Gripens to Ukraine so that it could concentrate only on the F-16.