EXCLUSIVE: Ukrainian Antonov Aircraft Spotted Picking Up F-16s On Tucson, Arizona Runway, Operating Under Biden’s TSA Special Permit

On Saturday, Laura Loomer obtained photographs of a Ukrainian-owned aircraft loading F-16’s at a runway in Tucson, Arizona. An investigation conducted by Laura Loomer revealed that the aircraft belongs to Antonov Airlines, a division of the Ukrainian state-owned Antonov Company, which was granted special permits by the Obama and Biden administrations’ Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The Biden administration’s TSA “special permit” was issued in November 2024, days after President Donald Trump’s historic presidential election victory.

The Ukrainian-owned aircraft’s visible email address, “sales@antonov.kiev.ua,” corresponds to the Antonov Airlines website, antonov.kiev.ua. The company’s website states, “Antonov Airlines is a division of Antonov Company, headquartered in Kyiv, Ukraine, and a Ukrainian state-owned enterprise that operates an extensive fleet of cargo aircraft, including five AN-124-100 Ruslan aircraft, one with a payload of up to 150 tonnes. ANTONOV’s air fleet continues to fly worldwide. The services responsible for planning the transportation and maintenance of aircraft have been temporarily relocated to Leipzig, Germany, allowing ANTONOV to ensure the further safe operation of five AN-124-100(150) airplanes.”

Antonov Airlines has a history of operating in the United States under special exemptions, granted to them by Democrat Presidents. According to a September 2016 article from Air Cargo Weekly, the Obama administration’s Department of Transportation granted the company broad air charter exemptions for U.S. flights. The article noted, “The Antonov Company no longer needs to obtain US DOT statements of authorization, following non-objections from US operators, but normal US Customs notifications and approvals are required for flights.” It further explained, “Antonov Airlines specializes in air transport of oversized and superheavy cargoes worldwide. Antonov became the first airline in the world that started operation of the AN-124 aircraft type on the commercial market.”

More recently, on November 15, 2024, just days after President Trump won the 2024 election, the Biden administration’s TSA issued a special permit to Antonov Airlines, valid until 2027, authorizing the transportation of hazardous materials. The TSA document reiterated, “The Antonov Company no longer needs to obtain US DOT statements of authorization, following non-objections from US operators, but normal US Customs notifications and approvals are required for flights. Antonov Airlines specializes in air transportation of oversized and superheavy cargoes worldwide. Antonov became the first airline in the world that started operation of the AN-124 aircraft type on the commercial market.” It’s striking that the TSA press releases from both the Obama and Biden administrations regarding Antonov’s ‘special permits’ are nearly identical, word for word.

Flight data from FlightAware indicates that an Antonov Company aircraft, matching the characteristics of the one photographed in Tucson, departed Tucson on Saturday, landed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and subsequently flew to Rzeszów, Poland, arriving on Sunday. As this plane was onboarding F-16s from the photographs provided to Laura Loomer, President Trump was in Rome meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The presence of the Antonov aircraft in Tucson and its subsequent international flight has raised questions about the nature of its cargo and operations, especially given that the Trump Administration is closer than ever to ending the war in Ukraine. Laura Loomer reached out to the Department of Defense, but they declined to comment on why the Ukrainian-owned aircraft was picking up F-16s in Tucson, Arizona.

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