Call to Pentagon
Eight US senators from two parties push for F-16s to be sent to Ukraine writer Policy. According to them, modern warriors “can change the rules of the game on the battlefield.”
A group of bipartisan senators is pressing the Pentagon for more information on what it takes to send F-16s to Ukraine.
According to the publication, the politicians sent a corresponding letter to the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, since the top officials of the presidential administration and Joe Biden himself so far categorically refused to supply American-made warplanes to Kiev.
Journalists learned the contents of the letter, which states that “the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is now at a critical stage.” Eight senators are confident that the F-16 can “give Kiev an advantage.”
“After discussions we had at the Munich Security Conference last month with the United States, Ukraine and foreign leaders working to support Ukraine, we believe that the United States should carefully consider supplying Ukraine with F-16 aircraft. This will be an important potential game changer on the battlefield,” he says in the letter.
One of the initiators of the letter is former astronaut, Democrat, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. Together with his colleagues, he asked Austin to provide estimates by the end of this week “on a set of factors necessary for the successful transfer of the F-16 to Ukraine.”
Lawmakers asked how highly Ukrainian officials rated the warplanes when submitting their requests for weapons and how, if approved, the F-16s could be procured from new production or existing stocks. They also requested a military assessment of what impact the F-16s will have on the conflict and how quickly Ukrainian pilots can train on the planes.
The letter was signed by Democrat Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Jackie Rosen of Nevada, and Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Ted Budd of North Carolina.
In a letter from senators, according to Fox News registeredthat two Ukrainian pilots recently traveled to Tucson, Arizona to be tested in an F-16 simulator at Morris Air National Guard Base. Lawmakers described it as a “critical step” in assessing the Ukrainian military’s ability to defeat Western warplanes. By the way, the Ukrainian army mostly flies Soviet-made aircraft such as the MiG-29.
Conflict with the President
Fox News reporters recalled that in February, a group of House MPs from both parties sent a similar letter to Biden, urging him to provide planes to Ukraine.
“F-16 or similar fourth-generation warplanes will provide Ukraine with a highly mobile platform to engage with Russian air-to-air missiles and drones, protect Ukrainian ground forces when they collide with Russian forces, and fight Russian fighters. disputed air superiority,” the lawmakers wrote in a February 28 letter.
But Politico writes that top civilian officials, including Joe Biden himself and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, have said that “fighter planes are not an urgent battlefield requirement for Ukraine.”
Deputy Defense Secretary Colin Kahl also defended the administration’s stance, saying in February that “the most optimistic delivery time for older F-16s could take around 18 months, and new aircraft production could take three to six years.”
“This is a priority for Ukrainians, but not among their top three priorities. Their top priority is air defense systems. <…> gunner, <…> besides the armored vehicles and mechanized systems we were talking about,” Kal insisted.