The official said that “Ukraine has demanded these planes since the beginning of the Russian war against it, when the United States and its allies provided MiG planes to the Ukrainians for their ability to face them”.
He added: “The American administration can issue licenses to its European allies who possess these American planes to allow them to be sent to Ukraine.”
And he pointed out that “it has not yet been decided, because the administration is interested at this time in accelerating the pace of delivery of American weapons, which it has committed to as soon as possible, at the ‘Ukraine”.
The statement comes as Britain and the Netherlands seek to establish an international alliance to help Ukraine obtain the F-16, nicknamed the “Dragon” or “Fighting Falcon”.
Kyiv sees these American-made fighters as important to its defense as Russia steps up its airstrikes, including on the Bakhmut front in the east of the country.
According to the press release from the British government, the two NATO allies are trying to transfer the “F-16” to Ukraine in addition to training its pilots, while Belgium has confirmed its availability to carry out these exercises.
What are F-16s?
One of the most mass-produced jet fighters in history. One of the most important light combat aircraft. He has the ability to defend, attack and aerial combat. Its range reaches 4,220 km, and it is capable of reaching Russian depth if it breaks away from Kyiv. It belongs to the fourth generation and has a speed of up to 2400 kilometers per hour. It can wage joint wars as it is equipped with advanced technologies that allow it to exchange combat data with allied aircraft during combat. Fitted with ESA phased array radar. The plane is 15 meters long, 5 meters high, the distance between its wings is 9.4 meters and its empty weight is about 9.2 tons. The number of flight hours in the world is about 19 million hours.
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