US Approves Potential $266 Million F-16 Maintenance Package to Ukraine

Ukrainian F-16 fighters at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Aug. 4, 2024. Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

The U.S. State Department has approved a potential $266.4 million sale of an F-16 maintenance package to Ukraine, just days after the Pentagon announced fresh military aid to Kyiv.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said on Dec. 10 that the proposed arms sale includes the Joint Mission Planning System, spare and repair parts, weapons software, personnel training and training equipment, and other related logistics support for maintaining Ukraine’s F-16 fighter jets.

“This proposed sale will improve Ukraine’s capability to meet current and future threats by further equipping it to conduct self-defense and regional security missions with a more robust air defense capability,” the agency said. “Ukraine will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces.”

The DSCA said it had notified Congress of the possible arms sale and said the equipment “will not alter the basic military balance” in the region.

“There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale,” the agency stated.

The approval followed the arrival of a second batch of F-16 fighter jets from Denmark to Ukraine on Dec. 7. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Denmark and said the first batch had already been deployed to intercept Russian missiles.

“Now, our air shield has been further strengthened. If all partners were as determined, Russian terror could already have been made impossible,” Zelenskyy stated on social media platform X on Dec. 7.

On the same day, the U.S. Defense Department announced a new round of military aid worth $988 million to Ukraine, which will provide the country with munitions for rocket and unmanned aerial systems.

That package, which will be delivered through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiatives (USAI), also includes support for maintenance and repair programs to help Ukraine reconstitute its forces and build and sustain combat power.

This marked the 22nd time that the Biden administration has provided support to Ukraine through the USAI, a Pentagon program for purchasing new military equipment, the Pentagon stated on Dec. 7.

Recent Aid Package Under PDA

The package worth nearly $1 billion came just days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Dec. 2 that a $725 million military aid package to the war-torn nation would be delivered under the presidential drawdown authority (PDA).

The PDA is a separate authority that the Biden administration has used to support Ukraine throughout the war. Instead of providing funding, the PDA allows the president to supply foreign recipients directly with weapons pulled from U.S. stockpiles, with the PDA account covering the cost to replace them.

Blinken said this package includes ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, Stinger missiles, artillery shells, drones, landmines, and other military equipment.

The Biden administration has signaled that it is working to increase security assistance to Ukraine before President Joe Biden’s presidential term ends in January.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Dec. 2 that the administration intends to send “hundreds of thousands of additional artillery rounds, thousands of additional rockets, and other critical capabilities” to Ukraine by mid-January.

To strengthen Ukrainian forces’ position in the east, Sullivan said, Biden has authorized the use of anti-personnel landmines in Ukraine, reversing his earlier position against supplying such weapons.

The outgoing president also has adjusted permissions on “Ukraine’s use of U.S.-provided long-range missiles” in response to North Korean soldiers’ involvement in the Russian war, he said.

The Pentagon also recently confirmed that it would begin contracting for specialists to help Ukrainian forces maintain their military equipment. It stated that these U.S. contractors would not operate on or near the frontlines but would instead remain in the background to repair military equipment requiring specialized technical expertise.

Ryan Morgan contributed to this report.