The Biden administration has told its European allies it stands ready to allow them to deliver “game-changing” fighter jets to Ukraine for use against Vladimir Putin’s forces, according to reports.
The White House is under increasing pressure to help Ukraine procure the American-made F-16, which is in the arsenals of a number of European countries.
However, any country would demand that the United States approve the transfer of F-16s to Ukraine on the grounds that sensitive American technology is on board the jets.
According to CNN, White House officials have in recent weeks signaled to their European allies that they are prepared to allow them to export the jets to Ukraine, which is currently preparing for a counteroffensive against Israeli forces. Russian invasions.
The network cited familiar discussion sources, adding that they said Washington remains reluctant to donate any of its own F-16s to kyiv’s war effort.
The Biden administration may approve the delivery of “game-changing” fighter jets to Ukraine by some of its European allies for use against Vladimir Putin’s forces, according to reports.
Nonetheless, CNN said the White House is ready to send the jets in if its allies in Europe decide that’s what they want to do with their F-16 supply.
However, the network said its sources were unaware of any official request from any of America’s allies to export the jets.
They also said no State Department officials were asked to prepare any documents that would approve the third-party transfers, CNN reported.
F-16s have topped Ukraine’s weapon wish list since it received main battle tanks from the US, UK and Germany.
kyiv says it won’t be able to defeat the Russian invaders without modern fighter jets, which have the potential to tip the balance of the war even further in their favor.
The Ukrainian Air Force currently relies on Soviet-era jets that would fight in a dogfight against the Kremlin’s more modern aircraft or its air defenses.
Despite this, Russia was also unable to take control of the skies over Ukraine, with Kiev’s own air defenses keeping Moscow’s air force largely on the ground.
Ukraine says the F-16s are “four or five times” more effective than the Soviet-era jets it currently has, and is urging its allies to send some to Kiev.
Speaking to CNN, retired US Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton said fourth-generation fighters could be a game-changer for Ukraine.
“It’s really versatile and can be used in different ways,” he told the network.
“And it’s also an aircraft that can potentially use its electronic jamming capability to go after some of the Russian radars.”
“It’s a very important plane, it’s probably the best plane for all the different capabilities that Ukrainians could want, and it’s probably the only plane that has it all in one package.”
The White House is under increasing pressure to help Ukraine procure the American-made F-16, which is in the arsenals of a number of European countries. Pictured: President Joe Biden arrives for a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in Hiroshima, Japan, Thursday, May 18, 2023, ahead of the start of the G7 summit
Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was making progress in persuading the West to supply Ukraine with F-16s, which are flown by several NATO nations and their air forces.
While touring European capitals this week, he received promises from British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to help build a ‘jet coalition’, although the two leaders abstained to say that they would send planes.
“We want to create this coalition of jets and I’m very positive with that… I see that in the shortest possible time you will hear decisions that I think are very important, but we have to work on that a little more,” Zelensky said. in London on Monday.
Washington – and President Joe Biden personally – have ruled out sending F-16s to Ukraine for now and seemed unenthusiastic about giving other countries the go-ahead in their public statements about it. .
Asked about the F-16 supply on Wednesday, a State Department official said, “We want to make sure that the assets and systems that we provide to our Ukrainian partners have the most impact, that they can. use them now.”
Western governments have been reluctant to leave their own countries defenseless by donating too much equipment.
They also avoided sending anything that could hit Russian territory deeply and give Moscow a reason to escalate the war.
No Western-designed jets have yet been given. Poland and Slovakia have delivered 27 MiG-29s to complement Ukraine’s current fleet.
Poland gave Ukraine 14 MiG-29s and announced that it would donate more. However, Polish President Andrzej Duda reiterated on Tuesday that Poland has too few F-16 jets to be able to donate any to Ukraine.
Slovakia donated 13 Mig-29s in various airworthiness states to Ukraine.
Contrary to these figures, the F-16s – also known as Fighting Falcons or Vipers and manufactured by Lockheed Martin – are the most popular combat aircraft in the world.
Nearly 4,500 are deployed in various countries around the world.
Ukrainian soldiers fire cannons near Bakhmut, an eastern town where fierce fighting against Russian forces is taking place, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on May 15
Rutte said May 4 that the Netherlands was working with allies including Britain, Belgium and Denmark to reach a conclusion on whether to send jets to Ukraine.
The Netherlands has 24 F-16s operational until mid-2024, when they will be replaced by F-35s. It also has 18 non-operational F-16s, 12 of which have been sold.
Britain will not send jets to Ukraine, a Sunak spokesman said, because Britain does not have the F-16s Ukraine wants.
Britain had previously said the time needed to train the substantial pilots and support crews needed to send its Eurofighter Typhoon planes meant they would be of little immediate use, but Sunak said Britain was ready to support any country wishing to send jet planes.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Wednesday that the country had neither the training capacity nor the proper equipment to actively contribute to the initiative to help Ukraine get fighter jets. .
Denmark said in February it was “open” to the idea of sending fighter jets to Ukraine. Denmark currently has around 30 F-16s in service.
An alternative to the F-16 could be the JAS Gripen fighter aircraft produced by Swedish defense manufacturer SAAB, which is considered a more cost-effective alternative to the F-16. The plane is operated by Sweden and a handful of other countries like South Africa and Brazil.
Sweden has repeatedly said there are no plans to send Gripens to Ukraine and that the Nordic country, which has applied to join NATO, needs its existing inventory.
The Czech Republic uses leased Gripens while Slovakia is waiting to receive F-16s and currently relies on allies to cover its airspace.
Czech President Petr Pavel has mentioned that the Czech Republic could donate some of its lightweight, subsonic L-159s, but that’s moot at this point.
Meanwhile, US officials estimated the fastest time needed for training and delivery of the F-16s at 18 months.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that France was open to the immediate training of Ukrainian pilots in France. France has no F-16s, only French-made Rafale fighter jets and the previous generation Mirage 2000 jets.
Earlier this week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured in London speaking to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak) said he was making progress in persuading the West to supply Ukraine with F-16s, which are flown by several NATO countries and their air forces.
London agreed to start pilot training in the spring and said it would consider shortening sessions for experienced Ukrainian pilots.
“It’s not about giving weapons systems. It’s about giving a platform. If someone follows Formula 1, you don’t just give a car, you have to give a pit crew,’ British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Wednesday.
Some models of fighter jets are likely to prove more suitable than others.
Justin Bronk of the RUSI think tank said Typhoons and F-16s would have to operate from smooth runways and centralized bases, while Swedish Gripen aircraft could fly at lower altitudes and be serviced on airstrips. shorter and more rugged landing.
