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Friday, Jun. 6, 2025

Did a Ukrainian cargo plane recently depart from Tucson International Airport?

Carmela Guaglianone, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
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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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.

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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.

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