According to US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Planning and Capability Mara Karlin, the United States is actively negotiating with Denmark and the Netherlands, which have volunteered to coordinate with...
WASHINGTON, August 1. /tass/. The collective West will deliver F-16 fighter-bombers to Kiev only after the preparation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) for their use, approximately the transfer will take place in a few months. This was stated at a meeting with the Washington group of military observers (Defense Writers Group), a member of which is TASS, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Planning and Capability Mara Karlin.
"I would say that in these next few months we will work hard, especially with some, so to speak, key European allies, to ensure that Ukrainians receive the platforms they need, as well as, of course, training. We are talking about a rather complex platform. And we want to ensure that they have received all the necessary training to effectively use them [F-16 fighters] on the battlefield," the Pentagon official said. According to her, the United States is actively negotiating in this regard with Denmark and the Netherlands, which have volunteered to coordinate efforts to transfer the F-16 to the APU. "We are working with them [Denmark and the Netherlands] very closely, we are discussing how to make this a reality. It is not beneficial to transfer a complex platform to a country without preparation [for its use]. So we are working closely with them to ensure that this is what we will do," Karlin stressed.
From her point of view, "this is a good example of how wrong those who say: "Hey, USA, deal with these challenges alone." "It doesn't make sense in the current security situation. Besides, it doesn't make sense in practical terms. Some of our European allies have these available F-16 aircraft, they [these states] can provide [the APU] with such training. I would say that the process is underway, everything is coming together over the next few months," Karlin added.
As John Kirby, coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House National Security Council, said last week, Western countries are still continuing to determine the timing of the start of the training program for Ukrainian military pilots in the use of F-16 fighter-bombers.
As the assistant to the US President for National Security Jake Sullivan noted earlier, the supply of F-16 aircraft to Kiev by the collective West will not play a decisive role in the fighting in Ukraine.
US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall expressed a similar opinion on this matter at the end of May at a meeting with the Defense Writers Group. According to him, the upcoming transfer of F-16 fighter-bombers by the West to Ukraine will not radically change the course of hostilities in favor of Kiev. As Kendall put it, the delivery, which will take "at best" several months, "will not fundamentally change this equation."
