US Air Force Secretary Assesses F-16's Impact in Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Ukrainian officials have been trying for months to convince their Western sponsors to supply F-16s, arguing that the aircraft would have a major impact in the conflict with Russia, RT reported on May 22. Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yury Ignat said on May 20 that when Kyiv adds F-16s to its arsenal, “we will win this war.”

Meanwhile, speaking at an event in Washington DC on May 22, US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the F-16 "will give the Ukrainians an increased capability that they don't have right now," but "it won't be a dramatic game changer," according to RT.

What does the US Secretary of State think about the impact of the F-16 in the Russia-Ukraine conflict?

According to Mr. Kendall, the F-16 (made in the US) will not change the balance of power in the Russia-Ukraine conflict because effective air defense systems will prevent them from playing a major role in deciding the outcome. He also said that providing F-16s to Ukraine would be "considered by some as an escalation on our part."

Bộ trưởng Không quân Mỹ đánh giá tác động của F-16 trong xung đột Nga-Ukraine - Ảnh 1. — A US Air Force F-16

On May 20, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko warned that Western countries would face "great risks" if they supplied F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, according to TASS news agency.

Mr Kendall also said that it would take at least several months to get the F-16s to Ukraine, but in any case, the decision to provide the fighter jets would help create a shift away from Ukraine's dependence on Soviet-era aircraft.

Also on May 22, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that training Ukrainian pilots to use F-16s and cooperating with allies to provide Ukraine with this advanced fighter jet remains a US "priority" in the coming months, according to The Kyiv Independent .

Russia: F-16 fighter jets arrive in Ukraine, raising questions about NATO involvement

"The President [US Joe Biden] has been very clear that we will begin training Ukrainian soldiers to fly the F-16 and we will work with our allies and partners on providing F-16s to Ukraine," Miller stressed.

Earlier on May 17, Britain and the Netherlands agreed to build a “fighter coalition” for Ukraine. On May 20, the US also announced that it would join this initiative along with Portugal and Denmark.

So far, Ukraine has received 14 Soviet-era MiG-29 fighters from Poland and 13 from Slovakia. However, Ukraine has shown the most interest in the F-16, which has been in service since the 1970s and is operated by more than 20 countries, according to The Kyiv Independent .

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