Ukraine’s Deputy Head of the Presidential Office, Brigade General Pavlo Palisa, confirmed the new round of talks on 20 May via Telegram. The agenda covered three things: spare parts supply, faster aircraft servicing, and expanding technical support for Ukrainian military aviation more broadly.
The maintenance situation in context:
* Ukraine has roughly 39 F-16s in service right now, with 4 confirmed lost since August 2024
* Depot-level maintenance is currently done at Sabena Aerospace in Brussels, contracted through 2029 at up to $235 million — meaning jets needing serious work have to travel to Belgium and back
* Norwegian F-16s earmarked for Ukraine arrived at that facility missing up to 100 parts each, creating a backlog that’s delayed their delivery
* The US has been shipping non-flyable boneyard F-16As from Arizona as a parts source transported shrink-wrapped on An-124s
* A $26M Pentagon contract from September 2025 covers Lockheed Martin producing Ukraine-specific maintenance documentation
The core ask from Kyiv is shortening the distance between a jet that needs a part and the part that arrives. Brussels turnaround times are measured in weeks. They want that closer to days.
No signed agreement announced yet from this round. Lockheed Martin hasn’t issued a public statement. Watching for whether a follow-up Palisa post announces something concrete.
Happy to answer questions.
marcosalbert on
So the US is providing assistance? How does that fit in context with Trump’s hostility toward Ukraine? Is Ukraine buying those boneyard F16s? Is that part of the $26M pentagon contract?
2 Comments
**Full breakdown for those who want the detail:**
Ukraine’s Deputy Head of the Presidential Office, Brigade General Pavlo Palisa, confirmed the new round of talks on 20 May via Telegram. The agenda covered three things: spare parts supply, faster aircraft servicing, and expanding technical support for Ukrainian military aviation more broadly.
The maintenance situation in context:
* Ukraine has roughly 39 F-16s in service right now, with 4 confirmed lost since August 2024
* Depot-level maintenance is currently done at Sabena Aerospace in Brussels, contracted through 2029 at up to $235 million — meaning jets needing serious work have to travel to Belgium and back
* Norwegian F-16s earmarked for Ukraine arrived at that facility missing up to 100 parts each, creating a backlog that’s delayed their delivery
* The US has been shipping non-flyable boneyard F-16As from Arizona as a parts source transported shrink-wrapped on An-124s
* A $26M Pentagon contract from September 2025 covers Lockheed Martin producing Ukraine-specific maintenance documentation
The core ask from Kyiv is shortening the distance between a jet that needs a part and the part that arrives. Brussels turnaround times are measured in weeks. They want that closer to days.
No signed agreement announced yet from this round. Lockheed Martin hasn’t issued a public statement. Watching for whether a follow-up Palisa post announces something concrete.
Happy to answer questions.
So the US is providing assistance? How does that fit in context with Trump’s hostility toward Ukraine? Is Ukraine buying those boneyard F16s? Is that part of the $26M pentagon contract?