Ukraine’s Unique Mobile F-16 Maintenance System ‘Will Work Anywhere’

The Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) has taken delivery of a fleet of vehicles designed to help it operate and maintain its F-16 Viper fighters at dispersed locations around the country, the “Come Back Alive (CBA)” charity foundation announced on Tuesday.

Working with the Ukrainian defense industry’s “Office 61,” and with financial support from “Ukrnafta,” the system was CBA’s brainchild.

The systems provided consist of two technical support team hubs for aircraft and aviation weapons maintenance and a mission planning complex, a total of 10 vehicles, at a cost of around Hr. 51.4 million ($1.2 million) of which “Ukrnafta” donated Hr.49 million. ($1.1 million).

The CBA announcement says the mobile system is the first of its kind with maintenance and operational support to the technically complex F-16, normally only available at permanent airbases.

Around 80 F-16s have been pledged to Ukraine from multiple countries, although how many have actually been delivered is unclear. The UAF has lost four Vipers on operations with unconfirmed Russian claims to have destroyed some on the ground.

This threat to Ukraine’s relatively limited number of Vipers, which are a prime target for Russian attack, is being combated by frequently moving them between dispersed locations, mainly in western Ukraine. Now the necessary support can be brought to the aircraft wherever it is needed, both formal and emergency air strips.

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System components

Each of the two munitions handling and maintenance teams consist of the following:

• One 4x4 workshop truck capable of making minor repairs as well as the preparation and testing of aviation weapons.

• Two 4x4 trucks equipped with a small crane that enables munitions to be lifted and attached to the aircraft.

• One pickup truck to move team members and their equipment.

The “Mission Planning Complex” consists of a German-made 6×6 MAN truck with a 4×4 trailer. The truck is said to house has seven workstations used to support mission planning and other related tasks including mission briefings for F-16 pilots. The trailer is said to be a residential module in which planning personnel can sleep when deployed to remote locations.

In making the announcement, Taras Chmut, the Director of the CBA foundation, said: “This project became the Foundation’s first focused on working with the F-16. Here we solve two tasks: the first is a mobile mission planning command post; the second is preparation for the use of aviation weapons. The aircraft received by Ukraine appeared and existed in a closed ecosystem. They were not used the way we use them. Ours operate under the conditions of a full-scale war – with constant sorties and continuous Russian hunting of the aircraft.”

“So, this unique technical solution, which we implemented with the domestic defense industry and with the support of Ukrnafta, is based on real needs in a real war. We will continue to accompany this track and, if necessary, adapt the developments to other aircraft that Ukraine will receive.”

The CBA foundation was formed in 2014 with the sole aim of providing effective practical support to Ukraine’s Defense Forces – equipment procurement, technical and medical training, and other unspecified services. “Office-61” is part of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, which was set up in 2023 to provide all aspects of support to Western-supplied F-16 fighter aircraft. Ukrnafta is the state-owned oil and gas producing enterprise.