F-16 fighters can be transferred to Ukraine no earlier than in 18 monthsWashington.
March 1. INTERFAX - When supplying weapons to Ukraine, the Pentagon focuses on the needs of Kiev and ensuring the combat readiness of the American army, and not on considerations of escalation of the Ukrainian conflict, said US Deputy Defense Minister for Political Affairs Colin Kahl.
"Currently, I believe we are determining the level of military assistance to Ukraine, based not on considerations of escalation (of the conflict)," Kahl said at a hearing in the Armed Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.
This is how he responded to criticism from Republican Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, who said that US President Joe Biden was "overly worried" that sending certain types of weapons to Kiev would be regarded as an escalation, and that this would only contribute to prolonging the conflict.
According to Kal, the administration of the American president is considering which weapons to supply to Ukraine, based on its needs, as well as taking into account the potential impact on the combat readiness of the US armed forces and crisis situations in other parts of the world.
A number of lawmakers criticized the White House for refusing to immediately supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Biden said last week that Ukraine "doesn't need F-16s right now."
Kahl said that, according to the most optimistic estimates, the United States can supply Ukraine with F-16s already in service in about 18 months, and the production of new ones will take from three to six years.
The Deputy Minister noted that the F-16 is "a priority for Ukrainians, but it is not among their top three priorities."
