Photo. Ukrainian Air Force / X / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0
On Monday, 12 October, a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet, formerly belonging to the Royal Netherlands Air Force, flew over Poland. The aircraft passed over Tomaszów Lubelski, later heading towards Wrocław and Legnica. It crossed the Polish-German border and headed towards Belgium.
Ukrainian F-16 over Poland
On Monday, 12 October, a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet appeared over Poland. It entered Polish airspace near Tomaszów Lubelski. Its presence was reported by Polish Military Radar at 13:28.
The machine flew over several cities, including Wrocław and Legnica. The aircraft crossed the Polish-German border and flew over Belgium. The purpose of the flight is likely a technical inspection.
What is the significance of the flight?
The aircraft was most likely flying to maintenance facilities. Such plants for F-16AM/BM aircraft—the variants operated by Ukraine—are located in Belgium. It should be recalled that the fighter jets at Ukraine’s disposal are heavily utilised and, at the same time, are already quite worn (the newest may date back to the 1990s, while older ones are from the 1980s). However, they are used intensively in combat to intercept cruise missile attacks and to engage jet drones using their cannons. Ammunition for the latter was recently reportedly supplied by Poland, among others.
Every few hundred flying hours, however, Ukrainian F-16s require an inspection that cannot be carried out within Ukraine. Final assembly of the aircraft now held by the Ukrainians, as well as subsequent modernisations, was carried out in Belgium and the Netherlands at the end of the Cold War (with equipment components manufactured in Denmark and Norway); hence, the expertise to perform the required maintenance is located there. It should be emphasised that such flights require coordination with the Polish authorities, but they have already been conducted on multiple occasions. For example, in August, one of the F-16s flew towards Denmark.