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The US Minister: Deliveries of F-16s to Ukraine will begin in at least a few months

Author:
Oleksiy Yarmolenko
Date:

The Pentagon said that the transfer of F-16 fighters to Ukraine will begin at least in a few months. And this is based on an optimistic scenario.

This was stated by the Secretary of the US Air Force Frank Kendall, writes CNN.

According to him, it will be at least "several months" before Ukraine will be able to operate the F-16. It is also necessary to work out some details before the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine can use Western aircraft in large numbers.

"Under no circumstances are we going to transfer F-16s or other Western fighters in significant numbers to the Air Force of Ukraine sooner than a few months from now," Kendall noted.

At the same time, he emphasized that this is a rather short term, since it usually takes more than 2 years to train a new American pilot to work with such an aircraft. Even a refresher course for an F-16 pilot who hasnʼt flown for a while can take up to 5 months.