The United States has approved a plan that will allow its allies to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter aircraft.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave Denmark and the Netherlands, both of whom are leading the training on the aircraft, official assurances that the United States will expedite approval of transfer requests for F-16s to go to Ukraine when the pilots are trained, a U.S. official told the Washington Examiner on Friday.
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“I can confirm that the United States has given formal assurances to Denmark and the Netherlands, which are leading the coalition on F-16 training, that we will expedite approval of all necessary Third Party Transfer requests in time to ensure F-16s can be delivered to Ukraine as soon as training for Ukrainian pilots is completed,” the official explained. “This way, Ukraine can take full advantage of its new capabilities as soon as the first set of pilots complete their training.”
Ukrainian leaders have requested fourth-generation aircraft from its Western allies for months while pointing out that its counteroffensive, which has yielded less than ideal outcomes thus far for Kyiv, would be more likely to succeed if they could establish air superiority over the battlefield.
The Ukrainian air force provided a list of 32 pilots that would undergo the F-16 training, but only eight know English well enough to begin the highly complex training immediately, the official explained, noting that the average Ukrainian squadron is between 12-16 pilots. Those pilots who don’t have the requisite English knowledge will be going through an English language training program in the U.K. that will take between 4-6 months prior to beginning the aircraft training.
Both U.S. and Ukrainian officials have acknowledged in recent days that Ukraine will not be operating F-16s on the battlefield this year.
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“They’re getting language training in the UK. And then they’re gonna get a little bit more training on propellers and then go down to France and fly in the Alpha jet for a little bit. That all is gonna take time,” Gen. James B. Hecker, U.S. Air Forces Europe/Africa Commander, told reporters on Friday during a Defense Writers Group event. “And that’s probably not going to happen before the end of the year. So that takes a while to make that happen. So that’s why it’s going to be at least until next year until you see F-16s in Ukraine.”
Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian air force, said on Wednesday, “It’s already obvious we won’t be able to defend Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets during this autumn and winter,” adding, “We had big hopes for this plane, that it will become part of air defense, able to protect us from Russia’s missiles and drones terrorism.”
