Senators tell Pentagon to ‘take a hard look at providing F-16 aircraft to Ukraine’
A bipartisan group of US senators on Tuesday sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urging him to investigate the possibility of sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky It has been pressuring the US and other allies to provide military aircraft during the year-long war. President Biden has so far refused to authorize fighter jets for Ukraine, but eight US senators wrote in a letter Tuesday that the country is at a “turning point in the conflict” and air power is needed to prevail. Might be possible.
The senators wrote in the letter, “After speaking with U.S., Ukrainian, and foreign leaders working to support Ukraine at the Munich Security Conference last month, we believe the U.S. should provide F-16 aircraft to Ukraine.” Need to keep a close eye on getting it done.” It was spearheaded by Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.
“This will be an important capability that could prove to be a game changer on the battlefield.”
FILE PHOTO: An F-16 fighter jet landing before an air show in New York City. (Etilgan Ozdil / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The letter noted that two Ukrainian pilots recently traveled to Tucson, Arizona, to participate in a skills assessment on the F-16 simulator at Morris Air National Guard Base. Senators called it an “important step” in assessing the Ukrainian military’s capabilities to receive Western fighter jets. Ukraine’s military mostly flies Soviet-made aircraft such as the MiG-29.
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A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House sent a similar letter to Biden last month urging him to provide the plane to Ukraine.
“F-16s or similar fourth-generation fighters would provide Ukraine with a highly mobile platform to target Russian air-to-air missiles and drones, to protect Ukrainian ground forces as they engage Russian troops, as well as Russian fighter jets, for disputed air superiority,” the lawmakers wrote on February 28.
FILE PHOTO: Two Polish Air Force Russian-made MiG-29s fly above and below two Polish Air Force US-made F-16 fighter jets during an air show in Radom, Poland. (AP Photo/Alic Keplickz, File)
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Tuesday that his government could send Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine “within the next four to six weeks,” according to the Associated Press. Other European allies have also indicated they are ready to provide military aircraft to Ukraine.
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This would not be the first time that the US has turned a blind eye to sending some sort of military equipment to Ukraine. The US balked at sending Abrams M1 tanks for several months before the Pentagon announced in January that 31 tanks would be sent to the battlefield.
