Deputy Pentagon Chief Kahl said that the conflict in Ukraine could last from 6 months to 3 years The Pentagon reported that the United States decided not to supply Kiev with F-16 fighters, so they did not begin training Ukrainian pilots.
The House of Representatives of Congress also believes that the transfer of new and older models of combat aircraft to Ukraine would be an "unreasonable use of resources." Therefore, the United States focused on supplying Kiev with "really necessary" air defense, artillery and armored vehicles. The Pentagon also believes that the special operation may last two to three years.
Ukraine without fighters
Colin Kohl, the US Deputy Secretary of Defense for Political Affairs, said during a speech at a hearing in the Armed Forces Committee of the House of Representatives of Congress that the United States did not begin to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets, since Kiev may never receive aircraft.
"No, we have not started training (Ukrainian pilots) - "Gazeta.Ru») F-16. Our estimate is that the delivery time of the F-16 and the training period is about 18 months.
He also recalled the words of US President Joe Biden that the transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine "is not a top priority right now." At the same time, a representative of the US military department noted that the issue of aircraft supplies to Kiev was "carefully studied" in Washington.
According to the Stake, it would take "three to six years" to transfer the new F-16s to Ukraine, since they must first be produced. According to him, deliveries of older fighter models would take from 18 to 24 months.
The Pentagon spokesman added that Ukraine had requested "up to 128 fourth-generation fighters" from the United States, including the F-15, F-16 and F-18.
The ministry also believes that in the long term Kiev will need from 50 to 80 F-16 aircraft to replace the existing fleet of the country's Air Force. In addition, the Pentagon estimated that the supply of even a part of the new fighters would cost the budget $ 10-11 billion, and the transfer of older models to Kiev would cost from $ 2 billion to $ 3 billion.
Adam Smith, a senior Democrat of the Armed Services Committee of the House of Representatives of the US Congress (from Washington state), said that "at best" the US could supply Ukraine with several F-16s "within a year, maybe eight months, if we really pushed hard."
"And it would be good luck, because it is necessary not only to train pilots. We need to train mechanics. You have to have airfields where you can place F-16s, and you have to have spare parts to make it all work. So we looked at it and decided that it was an unreasonable use of the resources needed to win the war. And, by the way, the fourth-generation fighter in this particular struggle will fight for survival, facing a ton of Russian air defense means," the congressman explained.
He is sure that it is impossible to "send everything that people ask for in the blink of an eye, without even thinking about it," so the United States sends Ukraine "only what they really need" - air defense, artillery and armored vehicles.
"A good example"
Colin Kohl believes that Russia's military special operation revealed the shortcomings of the US military-industrial base, which could not produce ammunition in the right quantity.
"Right now our priority is to make sure that we increase the production of what we expect Ukraine will continue to need. A good example is 155 mm shells for standard NATO howitzers, as well as GMLRS missiles, which are used on the HIMARS MLRS," the Pentagon representative said.
He is confident that these weapons will still be in demand "in a year, and in two, and in three, because even if the conflict in Ukraine comes to naught," Kiev will need Armed forces that can "defend the territory" and "restrain Russia."
At the same time, Kol admitted that Russian troops manage to capture American weapons supplied to Ukraine on the battlefield.
"According to our estimates, if any systems were redirected to the wrong place, then by the Russians, who capture them on the battlefield. It always happens. But there is no evidence that Ukrainians are directing this (weapon - "Newspaper.Ru") to the black market," said a representative of the US Defense Department.
He concluded that the United States "does not see evidence" that the weapons supplied by the United States are "systematically" sent to the wrong place.
In turn, the Director of Operations of the Joint Staff of the US Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Douglas Sims, said that the US military will soon complete training for the calculation of the Ukrainian Patriot air defense battery.
According to him, US specialists are training the Ukrainian military in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
And US Deputy Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl said that the conflict in Ukraine "may end in six months, or maybe in two or three years." At the same time, he hopes that Congress will support the financing of assistance to Ukraine, taking into account even these estimates of the duration of Russia's military special operation.
Maria Shustrova
