Because of the rapid approval of tanks and Patriot air defense systems – which were not long ago off-limits for export to Ukraine – there is renewed optimism in Kyiv that American jets could be next.
Regarding the F-16, a senior DOD official said, “I don’t think we’re opposed.” The person insisted that no final decision has been made.
Although Ukraine has not yet declared that the fighter jets are its top priority, the official stressed that the Pentagon is focused on sending Kyiv the capabilities it needs for the immediate fight.
But fighter jets may soon take the top spot. Kyiv has renewed its request for modern fighters in recent days, with a top adviser to the country’s defense minister telling media outlets that officials will push for jets from the US and European countries.
A top Ukrainian official said on Saturday that Ukraine and its Western allies… engaged in “fast-track” talks Possibly on sending both long-range missiles and military aircraft.
An adviser to the Ukrainian government said the subject has been raised with Washington, but “nothing serious” is on the table yet. Another person familiar with the talks between Washington and Kyiv said it could take “weeks” for the US to decide on shipments of its own jets and to approve re-exports of F-16s from other countries.
“If we get them, the advantages on the battlefield will be enormous. … It’s not just the F-16: fourth-generation aircraft, that’s what we want,” said Yuri Sak, who advised Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov. give, told Reuters,
A White House spokeswoman declined to comment for this story, but pointed to remarks from Deputy National Security Adviser John Finer. He said the US would discuss the fighter jets with Kyiv and its allies “very carefully”.
“We haven’t ruled out any specific system in or out,” Finer told MSNBC Thursday.
A DOD spokesman said, “We have nothing to announce regarding the F-16.” “As always, we will continue to consult closely with Ukrainians and our international allies and partners on security assistance to Ukraine to enable them to defend their country.”
Ukraine wants modern fighters – US Air Force F-16s or F-15s, or their European counterparts the German Tornado or the Swedish Gripen – to replace its fleet of Soviet-era jets. Dozens more of the advanced aircraft will become available next year as countries such as Finland, Germany and the Netherlands upgrade US F-35 fighters.
Despite Ukraine’s jets being out of date, Kyiv’s integrated air defenses have prevented Russia from dominating its skies since the February 24 invasion.
But now, officials are concerned that Ukraine is running out of missiles to defend its skies. The DoD official involved in the discussion said that once its arsenal is depleted, Russia’s advanced fighter jets will be able to move on and Kyiv “will not be able to compete”.
A group of military officials at the Pentagon and elsewhere argue that modern fighter aircraft could be one solution to this problem. The F-16s carry air-to-air missiles that can shoot down incoming missiles and drones. And unlike the Patriots and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems the West is currently sending, the fighter jets can rotate rapidly over an area to defend different targets.
“If they get [F-16] Viper and they have an active air-to-air missile, with radar the F-16 currently has with some electronic protection, now it’s an even game,” the DoD official said.
Even if the US decides not to send the Air Force’s F-16s to other Western countries american made fighters they could supply. For example, Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Wopke Hoekstra told the Dutch parliament last week that his cabinet would supply the F-16s if Kyiv requested it. But the US would have to approve the transfer.
Senior Pentagon officials acknowledge that Ukraine needs the new planes for the long term. But for now, some argue that Ukraine has a greater need for more conventional air defense, such as the Patriots and NASAMS that the US and other countries are supplying, as the jets could take months to arrive.
Sending F-16s to Ukraine “doesn’t solve the cruise missile or drone problem right now,” the senior DoD official said.
big push for training
Others say the need for fighter jets is more urgent. Ukraine has identified a list of 50 pilots who are now ready to begin training on the F-16, according to a DoD official and a Ukrainian official, as well as three other people familiar with the discussions. People said these seasoned pilots speak English and have thousands of combat missions under their belts, and can be trained in three months.
Many of them have already trained with the US military in major exercises prior to the invasion. In 2011 and 2018, Americans and Ukrainians participated in military exercises over the skies of Ukraine. In 2011, the Americans brought their F-16s and taught Ukrainian pilots in their MiG-29s and Su-27s how to protect the stadium to prepare 2012 Euro Cup.
After Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, the US and Ukraine organized 2nd Joint 2018 Exercise With the aim of teaching Ukrainian pilots homeland defense tactics and controlling the skies. American pilots used their F-15s to replicate Russian fighter tactics.
Ukraine is now pushing the US to begin training its fighter pilots on the F-16, according to a Ukrainian official and one of the people familiar with it, before President Joe Biden approved the supply of the jets. But there is no appetite at the Pentagon for the proposal, US officials said. One option under discussion at a lower level is to begin training Ukrainian pilots on introductory fighter tactics in trainer jets.
Ukraine has also considered contracting with private companies in the US to begin training pilots, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.
It is likely that US military training will not begin without a presidential decision to supply US fighters. There has always been a concern for the Biden administration that sending advanced weapons could be seen as an escalation by Russia, prompting Vladimir Putin to use nuclear weapons.
But officials point out that the F-16 was first built in the 1980s, and the Air Force is already retiring parts of the fleet. While sending stealthy American F-22s or F-35s to Ukraine would be considered escalator, sending F-16s would not, he said.
The DOD official said, “Let’s face it, nuclear war is not going to happen on the F-16.”
A European official agreed, saying that the F-16 “cannot be considered provocative.”
“It’s part of the toolkit of conventional weapons,” the person said.
Yet the F-16s are complex systems that also require massive infrastructure and highly skilled technicians to operate and maintain. Training Ukrainian maintainers will take longer than training pilots, and the US may need to bring in contractors to carry out some of that instruction.
MLA support
Providing the F-16 is likely to win some support on Capitol Hill, where Democrats and Republicans alike reproach the administration for not moving fast enough or withholding certain capabilities such as long-range artillery. Sending Russian-made MiG fighters to Ukraine via the Eastern European countries that still fly them won bipartisan support, although the arms swap ultimately never materialized.
repealed. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), who is co-chair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, said he is “not against” providing the F-16 to Kyiv, but broadly “whatever works” to Ukraine. are in favor of providing
“You can’t halve a war. Not Putin. You have to meet Putin for armor, weapon for weapon, because there is already an extraordinary disadvantage in troop numbers,” Quigley said. “Send them whatever works, whatever they need.
“When I first started talking about this, my message was that what were once vices are now habits,” he said. “Everything we proposed was seen as escalatory.”
But the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.), cast doubt on the need to send F-16s into conflicts where the fighters have not proved decisive.
Smith said, ‘I am not opposing it. “It’s not at the top of anyone’s list of priorities that focuses on [weapons] The fight is really needed now.
He said the F-16, like the older MiG jets debated last year, would be vulnerable to Russian air defenses and fifth-generation fighters. Instead, Smith stressed the need to supply ammunition for air defense batteries, long-range missiles, tanks, and armored vehicles.
“We really need to focus on air defense, number one,” he said. “And number two, artillery.”