The United States has said it would support the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter planes.
The development comes as Ukraine continues to press the West for F-16 figthers. While the United States has not yet agreed to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighters, the agreement to support the training of pilots is being seen as an evolution of US position on the question of F-16 fighters.
Ukraine believes that F-16 would give the country an edge over the Russians in the battlefield. While the United States has supplied Ukraine everything from ammunition to tanks and rockets, it has not so far accepted the request to provide Ukraine F-16 fighters.
Here we explain what's the importance of F-16 to Ukraine, what does the evolving US policy show, and how things stand on this front.
Why is Ukraine asking for F-16 fighters?
Ukraine has long begged for F-16 fighter jets to give it a combat edge as it battles Russia's invasion. So far, the United States-led West has provided small arms, rockets, artillery, tanks, and air defence systems to Ukraine.
Ukraine has pressed for Western jets since the very earliest stages of the war, insisting that the sophisticated aircraft would give edge in the war and allow them to strike Russian forces.
Nearly a year ago, two Ukrainian fighter pilots who asked to be identified by their call signs "Moonfish" and "Juice" met with reporters in Washington to argue for getting the F-16 Fighting Falcons, which have more advanced radars, sensors and missile capabilities.
In February, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov held up a picture of a warplane when he was asked in Brussels what military aid his country needed. Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a visit to Germany that he was pushing for allies to forge a "fighter jet coalition" that would provide Ukraine with the combat planes it needs to counter Russia's air dominance.
Ukraine's leaders have argued that the F-16 is far superior to their existing fleet of Soviet-era warplanes.
The Guardian noted that Ukrainians have not used air power much in the war and said they believe F-16 could change that.
The Guardian reports, "A curious feature of the Ukraine war has been its relatively limited use of air power. Russia’s anti-aircraft defences are considered effective, and Moscow has been reluctant to risk its own air force beyond the frontline, as it also wants to minimise losses. The former US Air Force general Philip Breedlove has described the air situation as one of 'mutual denial'. Nevertheless, Kyiv hoped squadrons of fast jets could be used to support a breakthrough, or least help blunt a major Russian attack."
In response to those pleas, the U.S. has found ways to deliver some of the advanced capabilities without providing the actual jets. For example, Air Force engineers found ways to modify the HARM air-to-surface anti-radiation missile so that it could be carried and fired by Ukrainian-flown MiGs. The missile and its targeting system enable the jet to identify enemy ground radars and destroy them.
Why is the United States not supplying F-16s to Ukraine?
Repeatedly for months senior US officials —from President Joe Biden on down— had flatly rejected sending F-16s to Ukraine, when asked publicly. And the US had so far declined to allow other countries to export their US-made Falcons to Ukraine.
As recently as Monday, after Zelenskyy reiterated his desire for F-16s and other jets, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby was asked if the US had in any way changed its position on F-16s not being the right focus for military aid. Kirby said "No".
Asked similar questions in recent months, Biden also declined to approve the F-16s. In one instance earlier this year he was asked why he opposed sending them, and he responded, "Because we should keep them here."
US officials at the Pentagon have insisted that the military aid the US was providing to Ukraine was based on what the country needed most to fight the war. So the emphasis has been on sending air defence systems and millions of rounds of rockets, missiles and other ammunition — as Ukraine prepares for a much expected spring offensive.
The other key reason, however, is the ongoing concern that sending fighter jets to Ukraine would enrage the Russians, provoke President Vladimir Putin and possibly escalate or broaden the war.
US to support training of Ukrainian pilots
Though not supplying F-16 fighters to Ukraine, the United States has said that it would support training of Ukrainian pilots.
The United States will also not object to other partner countries providing F-16 jets to Ukraine, reported The Guardian.
A senior administration official said plan is to train Ukrainian pilots "on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-16s, to further strengthen and improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian air force", according to Guardian.
"As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them. This training will take place outside Ukraine at sites in Europe and will require months to complete. We hope we can begin this training in the coming weeks," said the senior official.
Separately, Yahoo News reported that it would take only four months for the US Air Force to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters. This is important as one argument against providing F-16 fighters to Ukraine is that the places are too sophisticated to Ukrainians who have so far used only Soviet fighters.
Yahoo cited an internal US Air Force report concluding that "given the current skill set demonstrated by the Ukrainian Air Force pilot ... four months is a realistic training timeline".
(With AP inputs)
