NYT: The US for now bans Ukrainian pilots from training on the F-16

Washington believes that Ukraine does not need F-16 fighter jets, therefore it prohibits European countries from transferring them to Ukraine and training Ukrainian pilots on them.

The New York Times writes about this with reference to the words of American and European high-ranking officials.

One of them said that the reluctance of the United States to give Ukraine F-16s is explained by the high price, because the financing of military aid is quickly running out, and also by the fact that the delivery of the aircraft would take months. In addition, Washington fears that secret components may fall into the hands of the Russians.

Because of this, the training of Ukrainian pilots is limited to the study of technical characteristics and tactical lessons without training flights on the F-16.

However, the American official did not rule out that the Biden administration would issue re-export licenses to European countries so that they could transfer their F-16s to Ukraine.

This is not the first time that the United States has refused allies to transfer military aid to Ukraine. This was the case with HIMARS missile launchers, Abrams tanks and Patriot air defense systems, but in the end the decision was changing.

• The Netherlands and Great Britain plan to lead a "coalition of fighter jets" for Ukraine to receive Western aircraft. The office of the British Prime Minister said that Rishi Sunak and Mark Rutte "will work to create an international coalition to provide Ukraine with combat aircraft, providing support in everything from training to the purchase of F-16 aircraft."
• In the summer, Great Britain will begin basic training of Ukrainian pilots to fly Western aircraft. There, they want to adapt the program that pilots of the Royal Armed Forces are trained by, for pilots from Ukraine, so that they can fly on Western models of aviation.
• Ukraine is asking its allies for Western-made multirole fighter jets, such as the F-15, F-16 and F-18. The partners have so far only agreed to train Ukrainian pilots, in particular , Britain, Poland and three other countries have promised to do so. Discussions about preparations for the transfer of Western aircraft are ongoing.
• In April, Denmarkʼs defense minister suggested that the allies would decide whether to transfer Western fighter jets to Ukraine by this summer.