Britain and the Netherlands are pushing to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter planes, however the United States is reluctant to do so. Several European allies are prepared to give their F-16s to Ukraine, but the U.S. remains unconvinced that Ukraine needs the expensive jets. Kyiv’s pilots are currently not even allowed to train on the F-16s that are owned by European states. American reluctance to allow training would severely limit a proposed new European coalition to help Ukraine obtain and fly F-16s, whether in the current conflict or to protect against any future aggressions by Moscow.
A senior U.S. official said the Biden administration is reluctant to send Ukraine F-16s for two reasons. One being the plane’s multimillion dollar price tag, which would absorb an already dwindling pot for war funding. The second reason is that the jets would not reach the battlefield for months. Rather, the U.S. is more concerned with sending other American weapons to Ukraine in time for a counter offensive against Russia.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/17/world/europe/ukraine-f-16-biden-netherlands-britain.html
