**Americans have delivered an F-16 fighter jet to Ukraine. For now, it's only a 1:72 scale model.**

On October 19, 2026, Zelenskyy met with representatives from the American defense company **Lockheed Martin**. They discussed increasing the supply of missiles for **Patriot** systems and **localizing the maintenance of F-16 fighter jets directly in Ukraine.**

**FOR REFERENCE:** By 2027, Lockheed Martin is obligated under a contract with the U.S. government to produce **650 PAC-3 MSE missiles** per year. Subsequently, a gradual increase in production to **2000 missiles per year** is planned. In addition, in September 2026, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that production of **PAC-3 MSE** missiles should begin at the MBDA plant in **Schrobenhausen** as early as the end of 2026.

After the _ceremonial_ request for missiles, the key topic became the attempt to transfer the maintenance and repair of F-16s to Ukrainian territory due to _problems_ with the aircraft fleet. Currently, a significant portion of the maintenance is carried out in Europe, which significantly **increases the time required for diagnostics and returning the aircraft to service.**

 In reality, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are still trying to solve a **serious problem** with the widespread use of Russian jet-powered drones (are we preparing critical infrastructure for similar challenges?). Combat aviation is one of the temporary solutions. The other day, Romanian F-16s shot down two drones that violated the country's airspace. The Romanian Ministry of Defense stated that the destroyed drones belonged to the "Geran family with a jet engine." No evidence of the drones' ownership or models was presented, but the headlines in the media were sensational.

[Two Majors](http://t.me/two_majors)