Second, it says other short-term needs trump the longer-term advantage the jets would provide third, it argues Ukraine needs to fight Russians inside Ukraine, rather than the long-distance attack capabilities represented by modern fighter aircraft. Now, the Biden administration cites three reasons for saying no to providing Ukraine with multirole F-16s-or Swedish Gripens, which have also been discussed: First, the President and his team have said it would take too long to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s, and too long as well to set up the needed maintenance and logistics train for the aircraft. Biden says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “needs tanks, he needs artillery, he needs air defense, including another HIMARS.” And there’s no doubt he does.īut he also needs attack aircraft with long-range precision weapons that can challenge Russia’s ability to attack Ukraine, destroy Russian air defense systems near the borders, and kill Russian tanks, artillery, and dug-in positions in the Eastern part of Ukraine.Īs a combat veteran F-16 pilot and commander, I know this firsthand: Russian surface-to-air missile sites can be lucrative targets for the Viper. Perhaps the President isn’t talking to the right military people. “There is no basis upon which there is a rationale, according to our military, now, to provide F-16s.” Ukraine “doesn’t need F-16s now,” President Joe Biden told ABC News in an interview broadcast Feb. lawmakers have asked about it, and airpower advocates have argued for it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sought advanced airpower, U.S.
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