Why does the US still not provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine?

(Dan Tri) – The fact that the US has not yet sent F-16 fighters to Ukraine despite continuous requests from Kiev makes the administration of Ukrainian President Zelensky not have much expectation about changing the war situation.

US F-16 fighter jet (Photo: Reuters).

Despite pledging to send advanced M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, US President Joe Biden’s administration has so far `said no` to providing F-16 fighter aircraft to Kiev.

According to experts, Washington has many reasons to act like that.

First, Kiev called on the US and Western countries to provide modern weapons systems.

But NATO countries in Europe also refused to provide arms aid because they feared it could provoke Russia and push the conflict further if the United States did not do the same.

Therefore, after months of hesitation, President Biden’s administration agreed to commit to providing modern tanks to Kiev.

The same goes for air defense systems, when President Biden decided to send Patriot batteries to Ukraine at the end of December 2022, Germany and the Netherlands later also announced they would send Patriot launchers and missiles to Kiev.

Armored fighting vehicles are no exception.

The importance of fighter aircraft

And now comes fighter jets, the latest weapons item on Ukraine’s support wish list.

Kiev has called for support for dozens of F-16s, a single-engine fighter produced jointly by General Dynamics and the US Air Force in the 1970s.

Ukraine wants US air support both amid efforts to regain control of cities and towns in the east and south, where Russian troops have taken control, and to protect the cities and towns.

An aircraft was destroyed in a fight between Ukrainian and Russian forces in February 2022 (Photo: AP).

According to the usual scenario, the Biden administration rejected this proposal from Kiev – but many military sources said that the rejection was probably only temporary.

When a reporter asked whether the US would provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, senior officials said that Mr. Biden’s `no` answer did not prevent the US from deciding to provide F-16s.

`We regularly talk with Ukraine as well as our allies and partners about the possibilities,` Mr. John F. Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, told reporters.

In a post on his Telegram channel on January 30, Mr. Andriy Yermak, a top adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that `the process of achieving the F-16 fighter jet is ongoing`, and at the same time

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that Poland will transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, but only if it is a coordinated action between NATO members.

Dutch news site NL Times quoted Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra as saying that the government would consider the request to buy F-16s from Kiev with an `open mind`.

The US government must approve the sale or transfer of F-16s from partner nations to third-party nations, which means any NATO member that wants to send US-made fighter jets

That authorization could help reassure NATO countries concerned about criticism from Russia for sending advanced fighter jets to Ukraine, two US officials said.

`We have a pattern, if we say we’re going to provide these types of equipment to other countries, our allies will do the same,` said Evelyn Farkas, the Pentagon’s top official on Ukraine under

However, according to many experts, sending fighter jets to Ukraine will not be an immediate factor in changing the battlefield situation.

Pilot and crew training, maintenance, resupply, refueling and sustainment activities will all have to be performed.

All of these problems can be done, but it will certainly take a lot of time.

What types of weapons does the US prioritize providing to Ukraine?

Currently, President Biden’s administration does not agree to send modern fighter jets to Ukraine, but it may be different in the future.

According to Pentagon officials, they want to prioritize providing Ukraine with weapons that can help Kiev right now.

US officials said that if the Ukrainian army were equipped with fighter jets and tanks, they would be able to launch counterattacks to regain territory currently controlled by Russia.

US officials said that Ukraine’s top priority right now is air defense systems, artillery and then armored and mechanized systems.

But Ukraine, whose only pilots fly Soviet-era jets, including the MiG-29, has been adamant that it wants modern Western fighter jets.

Michael Fantini, a retired major general who flew the F-16 during the Iraq War, said many US allies own the F-16 so the supply chain for this advanced fighter will be well supported.

He called it `the most maneuverable aircraft ever built, except for the F-22` – another type of fighter aircraft.

At a press conference last week, Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said it would take Ukrainian pilots `a few weeks` to learn how to fly fighter jets but `about six months` to

French President Emmanuel Macron recently announced that he does not rule out the possibility of sending fighter jets to Ukraine, but he also set some conditions such as providing such weapons will not lead to escalation of tensions or be allowed.