The House of Representatives votes for the training of Ukrainian F16: question marks over the delivery of fighters | Abroad

In the United States, the news went largely under the radar. The plan is part of a much larger plan that sets out funding for the Pentagon for the coming year. There is also a hurdle to overcome with the Senate. But the Ukrainians undoubtedly are. “Ukrainian pilots are trained on F15 and F16 aircraft in the United States,” a government official said.

These pilots are trained for a reason. Thus, speculation has resumed as to how and when the Ukrainian Air Force will be aided by new fighter jets. Ukrainians still fly MiGs equipped with outdated Soviet technology.

Escalation

America has always been reluctant. The White House fears that Ukrainian pilots may also use American equipment to attack Russian areas. This would cause a major escalation. An earlier plan to send Polish MiGs to Ukraine in exchange for American F16s failed because of this.

The Senate should not vote on the budget and therefore the training plan before September. Even if this obstacle has been overcome, it will still take some time before Ukrainian pilots can fly American planes. The training lasts several months, and the maintenance of the plane must also be organized. In the meantime, it will be necessary to determine which f16 and f15 will go to Ukraine. It seems likely that these will then be supplied via an ally.