Talks about supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets flared up again after the United States and European countries decided to supply Ukraine with main battle tanks, Kyiv Independent reports.
However, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that sending fighter jets to Ukraine “is out of the question.”
“Fighters are much more complex systems than main battle tanks and have a completely different range and firepower. We would be venturing into dangerous territory,” Pistorius told Süddeutsche Zeitung.
American-made F-16 fighters may be the best option for the Air Force of Ukraine, spokesman Yuriy Ignat said during a press conference.
So far, the US has refused to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets or to allow their transfer to third countries.
On January 19, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Wopke Hoekstra, said that the government of his country will consider the possibility of providing Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets “if Kyiv asks for it.”
During his speech at the Ramstein-8 meeting in Germany on January 20, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on partners to provide Ukraine with longer-range missiles and F-16 fighter jets.
Germany does not operate the F-16, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said the fighter jets are out of the question.
“There will be no deliveries of fighter jets to Ukraine. This was stated very clearly at the beginning, including by the President of the United States,” Scholz said in the German parliament on January 25, according to CNN.
Last week, the German government announced the delivery of 14 Leopard 2 tanks with ammunition, two Bergepanzer 3 armored recovery vehicles, two aerial surveillance radars, 78 road trains and 86 semi-trailers.
Ukrainian pilots will need 6 months to master F-16 fighters
Ukrainian pilots will need “about six months” to master the F-16 multirole fighter, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said on Friday, CNN reports.
“Our pilots can learn to fly these planes in a matter of weeks. It takes time, about six months, to master the fight against these planes,” said Ignat.
After Western countries agreed to supply tanks to Ukraine, some analysts were quick to speculate that European allies and NATO would eventually supply Ukraine with older aircraft such as the F-16.
Ignat added that in addition to the pilots, “intense training” will be required for the ground crews that maintain the F-16.
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Source: Hot News
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