- The US has contracted Sabena Aerospace Engineering to conduct maintenance for legacy F-16s earmarked for Ukraine
- Work will take place at the contractor’s facility in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Belgium
- The aircraft originate from European fleets (among Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway)
The US Department of Defence (DoD) contracted a Belgian engineering company, Sabena Aerospace, to conduct engine maintenance and material management for Europe’s legacy F-16s due to enter service in the Ukrainian Air Force.
Sabena will support the aircraft at its facility in Brussels for at least the next three years according to contract details from 29 January 2026.
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At present, the DoD have so far allocated nearly $70m to this end from a total sum of $235m.
Specifically, the company will perform what the DoD categorise as “intermediate” level maintenance and the more intensive “depot level” maintenance, though both require complex and specialised support beyond the means of Air Force engineering units. And in spite of the fact that Ukraine have been familiar with the Fighting Falcon since it first entered service in August 2024.
The local company has supported Belgian Air Force platforms for half a century. It also supports A400M, C-130, Alphajet, A109, Mirage, A10 aircraft and aims for a role in the future European fleet of F-35 and Skyguardian tactical uncrewed air systems.
Sabena declined to comment on questions that Airforce Technology put forward related to its latest F-16 contract.
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By GlobalDataEurope send F-16s
As Europe modernise their combat aircraft with the acquisition of the multirole F-35 Lightning II, air forces will subsequently donate legacy F-16s to Ukraine.
Belgium have pledged 30 aircraft, 19 Danish, 24 Dutch and 14 Norwegian units. This move marked an escalation in Western support for Ukraine in the summer of 2024 since the aircraft represents the enduring centrepiece of US combat airpower.
The aircraft’s significance is still notable two years on: the former Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal still prioritised the fighter in tandem with surface-to-air missile defence systems at the Ramstein meeting with European counterparts in October last year.
Toward the end of December, Shmyhal revealed that F-16s intercepted and destroyed most of the 35 Russian cruise missiles in a large scale strike just before the holiday period.
More aircraft: Mirage and Gripen
But Ukraine is also expecting additional aircraft deliveries, which the current Defence Minister, Mykhailo Federov, claims will significantly strengthen its air capabilities. These include French Mirage-2000s and at least 100 Swedish Gripen fighters.
To this end, Federov even discussed the possibility of localising British-made aircraft parts for the Gripen in Ukraine. According to Saab, the original equipment manufacturer, around 35% of Gripen components/parts come from the UK.
Ukraine’s future assortment of jets will offer the struggling country a variety of combat air capabilities from the Fighting Falcon’s versatility and payload capacity, Mirage’s high-speed interception to the Gripen’s agility and ease of maintenance.
Such a diverse fleet, it is hoped, will better suppress dense Russian air and missile defence systems and close the gap with the VKS’ combat air capabilities in both a quantative and qualitative sense.
