Yes.
Public flight tracking data indicates a Ukrainian cargo plane departed Tucson International Airport on April 26, 2025.
The Antonov Airlines An-124-100, used for international cargo shipments, was photographed at the airport as decommissioned F-16 fighter jets were loaded into its hold. A U.S. Air Force spokesperson later confirmed to media outlets that the shipment was destined for Ukraine, to be used for spare parts.
Tucson International Airport is located near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, home to the U.S. military’s “aircraft boneyard,” where retired planes are stored. The U.S. has included unspecified “spare parts” and “support equipment for F-16s” in accounts of previous military aid packages provided to Ukraine.
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Sources
- Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, About Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
- FlightAware, ADB7011 Tucson, US – Portsmouth, US
- FlightAware, ADB7011 Portsmouth, US – Jasionka, Poland
- ADSB Exchange, ADB7011
- The War Zone, F-16s Pulled From U.S. Boneyard Are Being Delivered To Ukraine For Spare Parts
- Kyiv Post, Mothballed US F-16 Fighters Dispatched to Ukraine
- KGUN 9 Tucson, Tucson likely source for old F-16s headed to Ukraine
- U.S. Department of State, U.S. Security Cooperation with Ukraine
- Antonov Airlines, Description and technical characteristics AN-124 Ruslan
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is partnering with Gigafact to produce timely fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
