NBC: The White House announced Ukraine's need for the F-16 in the futureThe US administration will not object to the transfer of American F-16 fighter jets by third countries to Ukraine, NBC reports.
Earlier, due to the refusal to supply combat aircraft to Kiev, the White House faced pressure from not only European allies, but also members of the US Congress.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called on Washington to provide them, but so far President Joe Biden has rejected his requests.Peter Alexander, Rose Horowitch
Hiroshima, Japan – On Friday, May 19, a senior Biden administration official said that America and its allies plan to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets as part of efforts to strengthen that country's security.
However, the official added that Kiev will not necessarily receive fighters directly from Washington.
It remains unclear exactly when Ukraine will be able to receive them and which countries will provide them, but the official clarified that these aircraft will not be used as part of the upcoming counteroffensive of Ukraine. According to him, in the coming months, the United States and its allies "will decide when exactly the planes will be transferred, how much we will provide and who exactly will provide them." This news came after on Friday, May 19, President Joe Biden informed the leaders of leading industrialized countries that the United States would support efforts to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets.
"Discussions on improving Ukraine's air force are a reflection of our long-term commitment to supporting its self–defense efforts," said this senior Biden administration official.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called on the United States to provide his country with F-16 fighter jets, but so far Biden has rejected his requests. In February, Biden said in an interview with ABC News that at that time Ukraine did not need the F-16.
"For now, I rule out such a possibility," Biden said, commenting on the possibility of sending the F-16 to Ukraine.
Earlier, officials of France and Poland expressed their readiness to provide Ukraine with modern F-16 fighters. However, any such transfer of American-made aircraft should be carried out only with the permission of the United States Government.
News of the decision to still provide Ukraine with the F-16 appeared when Biden arrived at the G-7 summit in Japan.
According to the official, joint efforts of the United States and its allies to train Ukrainian pilots to control these aircraft may start in the coming weeks. The training "will take place outside Ukraine, at sites in Europe, and it will take months to complete," he added.
White House National Security adviser Jake Sullivan later told reporters in Japan that Biden had shared plans for the supply of fighter jets with the G-7 allies.
"Over the past few months, we, our allies and partners have focused on providing Ukraine with the systems, weapons and training it needs to be able to conduct effective offensive operations in the spring and summer," Sullivan said. "We have fulfilled what we promised, we have given Ukraine what it needs, based on close consultations between our and their militaries, and now we have moved on to discussing ways to improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force as part of our long–term commitment to support Ukraine's self-defense efforts."
Sullivan made it clear that the fighter jets are part of these commitments and that as the training program is implemented in the coming months, the United States will work with allies on the details of aircraft deliveries, including discussing their number.
A senior Pentagon policy official, Colin Kahl, earlier told Congress that training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets could take "about 18 months." Other representatives of the US Department of Defense noted that training can be reduced to six to nine months, depending on the previous training of pilots and their level of knowledge.
In his speech at a meeting of the House of Representatives Committee on Armed Forces Affairs, Kahl said that it may take up to $ 11 billion to upgrade the Ukrainian armed forces through the supply of F-16 aircraft. The leaders of the Big Seven have not yet announced who will pay for Ukraine to receive these planes.
In March, NBC News reported that two Ukrainian pilots had come to the United States to conduct an assessment that was supposed to show how long it would take to train them to fly strike aircraft, including the F-16. Washington also approved the arrival of 10 more Ukrainian pilots to the United States for further evaluation.