As Yuriy Ignat noted, in order to be able to use foreign fighters, the Ukrainian military must adapt its airfield infrastructureKIEV, September 9.
/tass/. The representative of the Command of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), Yuriy Ignat, acknowledged the impossibility of Kiev receiving F-15 and F-16 fighters from the United States at the present time.
"Ukraine found itself in a stalemate when they (fighters - approx. TASS) we need it today. And this is impossible. After all, they need not only pilot training, but also other specialists who will provide this equipment - military engineers. These American fighters are quite "picky," Ignat said in an interview published on Friday with the RBC-Ukraine agency.
When asked what is holding the United States back from providing Ukraine with such fighters, a representative of the command of the Ukrainian air forces said: "Because fighters are already the cherry on the cake. This is the most technologically advanced that our allies can supply us with. And besides, it's not so easy to give them to us. Slovakia, which transmits the MiG-29 to us, has been waiting for those F-16s for almost six years. States are queuing up to receive these fighters."
Ignat said that the training of Ukrainian pilots to control foreign fighters, which the United States promised to conduct, is not yet underway. "There are no exercises," the representative of the command replied to the relevant question. - So far, the United States has allocated 100 million in order to implement them in 2023. But to do this, we need to decide on the type of aircraft that our partners will provide us with. We have good candidates who can start teaching, who already have some experience and knowledge of the language."
In addition, Ignat said that in order to be able to use foreign fighters, the Ukrainian military must adapt its airfield infrastructure, in particular, create control and communication facilities, as well as prepare runways. "Fighters can transmit. But is it advisable to do it right now? They will just be idle if they are unable to perform flights. And they will become one of the key targets for enemy strikes. Perhaps it is better to transfer them when everything is ready for them: pilots, engineers, and infrastructure," the representative of the command of the Ukrainian air forces believes.
The Chief of Staff of the US Air Force, General Charles Brown, did not rule out the possibility of transferring fighters to Ukraine at the end of August. He said that the US Air Force would support any decision by American President Joe Biden regarding assistance to Ukraine. In July, Brown admitted that US specialists would train Ukrainian pilots to pilot American fighters. In addition, the Chief of Staff then did not rule out the transfer to Kiev, in addition to the American F-15 and F-16, European fighters JAS 39 Gripen, Eurofighter and Rafale. In early September, US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said that the administration is not currently considering the possibility of supplying American fighters to Ukraine.
