During the G7 summit held in Japan, the US president informed his peers that the US will support international efforts for the establishment of a European training program for Ukrainian pilots on Western fourth-generation fighters, such as the F-16.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is the Western fighter aircraft that Kiev has been asking for months. In fact, several European countries were open to consider supplying such fighters directly from their respective Air Force stocks, such as Poland or the Netherlands, but until now, the U.S. remained firm in its resolve not to provide the Ukrainian Air Force with this equipment. The reasons were both technical and political.
However, the pressure for the Biden administration to change its position was growing among its European NATO allies, and the U.S. president finally gave in to his refusal. The support for the training program for Ukrainian pilots in Western fighters represents a signal that Washington would not veto an eventual re-export of F-16 fighters to Ukraine.
See also: UK Backs Ukraine with Military Aid and Pilot Training: F-16 Transition Program Announced
The defense ministers of Denmark and the Netherlands welcomed U.S. support for the F-16 training program for Ukrainian pilots. These countries, together with the United Kingdom and Belgium, were the ones who pushed hardest for this resolution.
Positive with support to training of Ukranian F16 pilots. Denmark has been working for this together with close Allies. Denmark is ready to support this. We will with close Allies work on the details with priority. https://t.co/RUREBv2knh
— Forsvarsministeriet/Danish MoD (@Forsvarsmin) May 19, 2023
Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenski was very pleased with Biden’s support and looks forward to discussing the practical implementation of his pilots’ training program when he visits the G7 summit on Sunday.
I welcome the historic decision of the United States and @POTUS to support an international fighter jet coalition. This will greatly enhance our army in the sky. I count on discussing the practical implementation of this decision at the #G7 summit in Hiroshima.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 19, 2023
The pilots sent by Kiev will train for months in different parts of Europe (outside Ukraine) yet to be defined, and are expected to start in the next few weeks. The most likely candidates to supply the first F-16 fighters are Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium, and eventually the United States.
“As training takes place in the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide the aircraft, how many we will provide and who will provide them,” an official said on condition of anonymity.
As the war in Ukraine drags on, Kiev’s Western allies are increasing the quantity and quality of their military aid, enabling them not only to establish a defense that was gaining in effectiveness, but also to strike back and threaten the relative security of Russian territory.
