The United States has authorized the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands as soon as pilot training is completed.
This is reported by Reuters with reference to an American official.
Washington has officially assured Denmark and the Netherlands that it will speed up the approval of requests for the transfer of F-16s. The country recently asked the United States for these guarantees.
In a letter seen by Reuters, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken wrote: "I am writing to express the full support of the United States for both the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine and the training of Ukrainian pilots by qualified instructors."
- On May 16, 2023, Britain informed 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 11 countries. Denmark and the Netherlands are expected to be the first countries to begin training pilots.
- The official training plan has not yet been approved. On July 1, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the partners were delaying the training schedule of Ukrainian pilots.
- On August 2, CNN wrote that European countries have not yet handed over the final training plan to the US, so there are proposals to send pilots to the US for training at an air base in Arizona.
- On August 5, Politico learned that the first group of Ukrainian pilots who will train on the F-16 have already been identified — there will be 32 of them in total.