The Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov informed that Ukraine will abandon the use of F-16 fighter jets during a counteroffensive this summer, but will use all ground equipment.
He said this in an interview with NHK in Singapore.
Answering a question about the F-16 fighter jets, which Ukraine has long wanted to receive, Reznikov noted that they "will not change the rules of the game this summer." According to him, it takes time to train Ukrainian pilots, so Ukraine will have to agree with its allies about the work of engineers and technicians who will maintain and repair these planes.
He added that Ukraine will be ready to deploy F-16s in the fall or winter.
Reznikov refused to talk about the so-called formation operations to prepare for a counteroffensive, in particular, about attacks on weapons depots and other material and technical bases of the Russians. He noted that this should be discussed by the generals.
- Denmark and the Netherlands headed the European group for training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16. They will be the first countries to begin training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets, other countries will join later.
- On May 16, Britain informed about the start of an international coalition of countries that will train Ukrainian pilots to fly fourth-generation Western fighter jets, including the F-16. The coalition included the USA, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Portugal. Pilot training will begin in the coming months.
- On June 4, the spokesman of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Yuriy Ignat stated that Ukraine has formed the first list of pilots who will go to train on the F-16. They will be sent in waves.
- On May 20, the White House confirmed that in the following months, the US and its allies will discuss when and how many fighter jets Ukraine will receive. The US agreed to the transfer of F-16s to Ukraine.
- On May 21, the US President Joe Biden confirmed that the United States will begin training Ukrainian pilots in the near future. The American report says that two Ukrainian aces on F-16 simulators exceeded the expectations of the United States. There, they believe that they will be able to train Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 in four months, instead of 18, as previously planned.
- On May 23, the Pentagon announced that the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine will begin in at least a few months. And this is based on an optimistic scenario. However, this is quite a short period of time, as it usually takes more than two years to train a new American pilot to operate such an aircraft.
- F-16 will be delivered to Ukraine in units, not individually. At the initial stage, several dozen of these aircraft may be transferred. Earlier, the adviser to the Ukrainian Minister of Defense Yuriy Sak said that Ukraine wants to receive 40 to 50 F-16 fighters to form three or four squadrons.