According to a new article from Ukraine Pravda, Greece plans to send 32 decommissioned F-16s to Ukraine. Earlier this year, Greece announced the decommissioning of 32 old F-16 Block 30 fighters, along with French F-4 Phantom IIs and Mirage 2000-5s, while upgrading other F-16s and purchasing new French Rafales and American F-35s. . This sparked a debate about the possibility of sending F-16s (and perhaps Mirage 2000-5s) to Ukraine.
O ukrainska pravda confirmed reports from April 2024 that Greece was planning to send the jets to Ukraine. According to Breaking Defense: “A Greek media outlet recently reported that Athens will likely approve the transfer of 32 F-16C/D fighters to Ukraine and may also send 24 Mirage 2000-5 Mk 2 platforms to Kiev.” It is not known exactly what state the F-16s are in and how many are operational.
“Greece planned to decommission 32 old F-16 Block-30 fighters and send them to Ukraine.” The article also mentions the Al Jazeera and reports that Greece may not send them directly, but would prefer to send them first to the US, which would upgrade them, and then to Ukraine. It is possible that the transfer of old F-16s to Ukraine is part of the deal to acquire new F-35s and F-16 upgrades from the US.
By donating 32 completed F-16s, Greece would become the largest single donor of jets to Ukraine, followed by Belgium, which has pledged 30 jets, with the last arriving in 2028. If Greece also sends the 24 retired Mirage 2000-5s , will consolidate itself as the largest donor of fighter jets. The Netherlands, Denmark and Norway are also donating F-16s to Ukraine, and the first F-16s are expected any day now.
At the same time, Ukraine has apparently refused, for now, the offer to receive Swedish-made Gripen fighters, due to the great logistical burden of operating two types of Western fighters simultaneously. However, Sweden is donating its two AWACS aircraft to Ukraine, which will act as important enablers for Ukrainian F-16s.
Despite the aforementioned logistical burden, has confirmed that it will send an unspecified number of Mirage 2000-5s to Ukraine by the end of the year. Argentina announced that it will return five non-operational French-made Super-Étendards to for repair and subsequent shipment to Ukraine. While these Western aircraft certainly bolster the struggling and outdated Ukrainian Air Force, all of these jets (with the exception of the Gripen) are aging and retired models.
Read also
