White House may agree to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in US
The White House has stressed that the United States will be open to training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s on its territory, provided that "the capacity for training in Europe is reached".
Source: John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, quoted by Voice of America and European Pravda
Quote from Kirby: "Our European allies, as I said, are leading the effort. But if the capacity for training in Europe is reached, we are certainly open to doing the training for Ukrainian pilots here in the United States."
Details: Kirby pointed out that US President Joe Biden had made it clear at the G7 summit in Hiroshima that Washington supported the provision of F-16s to the Ukrainian Air Force.
Quote: "The reason we're doing this is part of a longer, broader effort to make sure that we are continuing to improve Ukrainian self-defence and military capabilities for the long term."
More details: At the same time, Kirby stated that receiving modern aircraft such as F-16s takes time.
Quote: "It’s not just a function of the transfer of actual airframes, but the appropriate training for pilots, as well as setting up all the maintenance logistics and sustainment efforts that go into having modern aircraft like the F-16 in your fleet. It’s going to be a while."
More details: Kirby noted that the process of obtaining the F-16 by Ukraine will be a multi-step process, and the United States is committed to helping its allies move this process forward as quickly as possible.
Background:
- The Pentagon recently said that Biden has agreed to allow the allies to start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s.
- In mid-July, 11 partner countries, together with Ukraine, signed a memorandum defining the conditions for training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s.
- The training is due to start in August, but media outlets have reported that the US has not yet approved the final training plan, as European states have not agreed on all the details.
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