The United States does not allow Ukrainians to train on F-16 fighters
None of the European countries can transfer American-made fighter jets to Ukraine without US permission
The United States government has banned Ukrainian pilots from training to fly F-16 fighter jets manufactured by the American military corporation Lockheed Martin and owned by European countries.
Source. The New York Times reports this with reference to a senior Ukrainian official who spoke anonymously.
On May 16, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands announced the creation of an international coalition to purchase and supply F-16s to Ukraine and train Ukrainian pilots.
Poland and Belgium also expressed their readiness to help with pilot training. However, none of these countries can provide Ukraine with American-made fighters without U.S. permission.
They also cannot train Ukrainian pilots without the White House's approval.
According to a NYT source, it is likely to be limited to familiarization with technical language and tactical lessons. Test flights on F-16s are not currently available for Ukrainian pilots.
A source in the Joe Biden administration told the NYT that the United States does not want to send its fighter jets to Ukraine because it is very expensive and time-consuming.
According to him, even if the delivery of F-16s is approved, the planes will reach Ukraine only a few months after the start of the counteroffensive.
The United States intends to focus on supplying other weapons that Ukraine also needs. The White House is also considering issuing a license to European countries to re-export F-16s.
Earlier, Kyiv stated that it needed about 180 fighter jets to confront Russia in the air, but at this stage, 24-36 are enough.
Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands are ready to provide Ukraine with at least 125 F-16s that are ready for use. Norway is also ready to provide its decommissioned fighters.
As reported, the UK will start training Ukrainian pilots on fighter jets and provide "hundreds" of drones with a range of 200 km.
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