A member of Congress said the F-16s will be “fighting for survival” on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Handing over F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine would be “an unwise use of resources” because, at best, the US would be able to deliver only a few such aircraft during the year.
This statement was made by US Democratic Congressman Adam Smith at a hearing on the war in Ukraine, CNN reports.
“The honest truth is that the cost of trying to raise the F-16 and get it ready for service in Ukraine, even if we basically said that there is nothing more important than this single weapon system, and spent all our time and all our resources on it, at best, we could probably get a few operational F-16s to Ukraine within a year, maybe eight months, if we really pushed for it,” Smith explained.
He also expressed his belief that the F-16s will “fight for survival” on the battlefield in Ukraine. According to the congressman, this is “an unwise use of the resources necessary to win the battle.”
Smith also emphasized that not only pilots would have to be trained to fly these fighters, but also mechanics. In addition, Ukraine must have airfields capable of receiving F-16s , as well as spare parts for these machines to make them work.
Recall that on February 24, US President Joe Biden ruled out the possibility of transferring F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, saying that they “are not needed now.”
At the same time, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the F-16 is the best variant of a fighter for the Ukrainian military. This is an aircraft that has been upgraded and can carry all types of weapons.
Note that Poland expressed its readiness to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets. Later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that apart from Poland there are three more such European countries.
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