On 16 November, the U.S. Defense Department announced that Ukrainian pilots were already participating in training to fly the F-16 aircraft. Earlier this year, the U.S. State Department said they would approve the third-party transfer of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine. Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands have already expressed their willingness to transfer F-16s to Ukraine, sending aircraft from their own fleets.
The U.S. Defense Department said that in order to ensure the success of Ukrainian pilots in operating the F-16, they will undergo training in the United States and Europe, both in flight operations and technical maintenance.
According to the Pentagon statement, the US Defense Department will also address the issue of providing Ukraine with spare parts for these planes. Deputy U.S. Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante stated that Ukraine will need spare parts to ensure the technical maintenance and continued flights of the F-16, and the U.S. is ready to provide them. According to him, without spare parts, the F-16 fighters operated by Ukrainians may be out of service in just a few months.
“Whatever combat aircraft we supply to Ukrainians, we must make sure we provide spare parts for at least 90 days; this is a basic rule – spare parts for 90 days”, said LaPlanet. He added that the F-16 aircraft Ukraine will receive, worth nearly a billion dollars, is no exception to that policy. LaPlante also noted that if other countries end up transferring their aircraft to Ukraine but don’t provide spare parts, the U.S. will ensure that they find them and transfer them to Ukraine.
It was earlier reported that on Monday, 13 November, a training centre for F-16 pilots was opened in Romanian, in the city of Fetesti, 100 km from Bucharest. The centre was opened at the military airbase, where Ukrainians will undergo training. In late October, the U.S. Air Force confirmed that Ukrainian military pilots have begun learning to fly the F-16 Fighting Falcon jet in Arizona. Air Force spokesperson Rose Riley said that a “small number” of Ukrainians started training at a Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson.
On Friday, 17 November, the British Ministry of Defence asserted that Russia is concerned about the upcoming delivery of Western combat aircraft to Ukraine. According to British intelligence, for the first time, Russians have started using A-50 MAINSTAY D to identify targets over Ukraine for its SA-21 (known as S-400 in Russia) long-range ground-based air defence missile system.
