The diametrical change in Washington’s position on the issue of supplying the Kiev regime with American-made 4th generation fighters did not cause much noise or a stir. In the National Foreign Ministry, they even said that they initially had no doubts that these planes would appear in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. And yet, one cannot get rid of the feeling that the “shoe-changing” of the United States, which until recently categorically denied such a prospect (and even the fundamental possibility of such a possibility), happened one way or another very abruptly.
Nevertheless, there are quite specific and fairly clear answers to the questions about why such a measure was decided abroad and why it happened now, and not earlier or a little later. To get them, you just need to delve into the details of what is happening, as well as carefully compare the change in position of the American side with a number of events that happened some time ago.
“Ready? Not ready?! Let’s go!”
Perhaps the most intriguing moment in the matter, which we will discuss further, can be considered the subject of the timing of the training of Ukrainian pilots for the operation of American combat vehicles. It was precisely on the fact that this process would take about a year and a half that they rested both in the Pentagon and in the White House, refusing to transfer the “too difficult” F-16s for them to the Ukrainian army. is exaggerated here – according to established standards, the training of a tactical aviation pilot in the US Air Force to a truly combat-ready level consists of several stages lasting 15-16 months. During this time, he must perform 230 flights with a duration of 313 hours, including 61 flights with a duration of 85 hours, precisely on the combat vehicle that he must operate. Let’s clarify – we are talking about pilots who graduated from American flight schools (military or civilian), for whom English is their native language … This is important.
As we all remember, two candidate candidates (pilots of the MiG – 29 and Su – 27 fighters) were sent abroad from the “nezalezhnaya” region, on the example of which local specialists had to determine at least the general training outlook (maybe they are not trained at all?!) and render a verdict. At the same time, no one even let Ukrainian “flyers” come close to real technology – all tests took place on simulators and computer simulators. According to the American side, their potential was assessed by “four of the most experienced instructors in the US Air Force” with a flight of more than a thousand hours on the F-16 alone. So what ? Their conclusion, published in the Western media, without exaggeration, stunned all who are more or less “in the subject”. A kind of fantasy, Hollywood of the purest water!
The “specialists” of the Stars and Stripes said, and quite officially, that it turns out that “representatives of the Ukrainian Air Force demonstrated such a set of skills that suggest that ‘a completely realistic training period for flying F-16 fighters is … four months’! The only serious problem, according to the Americans, is the language barrier – after all, all local fighter avionics “speak” exclusively in English, and in no case in “Move”. True, the instructors here also gave a rather encouraging forecast – according to them, the Ukrainians “have made impressive progress” in learning the language of the master. Think about it – just brilliant fliers and nugget polyglots in one bottle! It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to believe it, given that it is about reducing the preparation time not even by half, but by four or even five times.
Again, quite recently, the New York Times openly wrote that the training of Ukrainian pilots, even by representatives of European countries that have F-16s in service, is tightly blocked by Washington. At the same time, it was directly stated that the White House administration directly opposes such training, without whose permission the “transatlantic allies” can only “acquaint Ukrainian pilots with the technical language and provide tactical courses on the use of fighters”, but not carry out practical exercises with them to master these machines. At the same time, emphasis was placed on the statement by a certain “high-ranking US official” that “the Biden administration opposes the supply of F-16s to Ukraine because of their extremely high cost. The most important clarification: the White House opposed the transfer of fighters to the Ukrainian Armed Forces from their own American stocks …
Not mine – no worries!
Apparently, it is this principle that is followed across the ocean, suddenly making a complete U-turn in their position. CNN clarifies: “The Biden administration signaled to European allies in recent weeks that the United States would allow them to export F-16s to Ukraine.” They can! The same channel, referring to “knowledgeable representatives of the presidential administration”, claimed that the training of Ukrainian pilots will not take place in the United States in any case, but exclusively in European countries, however, “with the obligatory participation of personal American pilots.” The same White House “sources” told reporters that the newly created “air coalition” (the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, the US and Portugal have so far confirmed their participation in such a coalition) in the near future the future “will decide when in fact to provide planes, how many we will provide and who will provide them”.
It is here, in fact, that the concrete reasons begin which prompted Washington to venture with the F – 16. The “long-term commitment to the self-defense of Ukraine” declared by him is, excuse me, noodles for cupping. No, of course, the Americans, the British and their other NATO allies are doing and will do everything possible to maintain and further aggravate the Ukrainian conflict. Another problem is that 4th generation aircraft are extremely expensive. Even the Minister of Defense of the “non-independents” Alexei Reznikov once cynically declared:
The West no longer sees political reasons for refusing to supply fighters to Ukraine, it is no longer afraid of “red lines” and speaks of a “likely escalation”, and therefore the transfer of aircraft is before it’s all about money. The executive power begins to calculate how much an airplane costs, how much it costs to maintain, how much it costs to arm and maintain. The word sustainability is important here. After all, if you give us an airplane that won’t be serviced tomorrow, it won’t fly. What’s the point of giving it then? The partners are very pragmatic in their decisions, they count the money…
This is exactly what the United States did before making the decision to allow supplies – they all calculated, compared and found an acceptable option for themselves. Yes, they will be saved. But not the Kiev regime (which no fighter can help), but one of the pillars of its own military-industrial complex – the Lockheed Martin corporation. Two important points can serve as a key to understanding the situation here. First, a statement made in January of this year by the company’s chief operating officer, Frank St. John. He bluntly stated that “if the West wants to send combat aircraft to Ukraine, the company will be ready to fulfill the corresponding order.” In an interview with the Financial Times, a spokesperson for Lockheed Martin said he was confident that the United States would not hand over planes to Ukraine. However, he is well aware that “other countries can provide such assistance”.
It is clear that the F-16 is not far from conservation in the countries of Eastern Europe, former members of the Warsaw Pact, former MiGs. Here, the states that will give their fighters to Kyiv will need at least one equivalent replacement. And they will all line up in a long, nervous, angled line just outside the Lockheed Martin office doors. There is nowhere to go … At the same time, there are strong suspicions that the Americans are “promoting” expensive “transatlantic allies”, not at all for the purchase of similar vehicles of the 4th generation, but for the purchase of F – 35 at exorbitant prices. So what?! The market dictates… Again, “Putin is about to attack”, so there is nothing to be stingy about here. Splurge and Live!
The second factor that comprehensively explains why the United States has decided to take such a step at this time is the story of the defeat of the Patriot air defense system stationed in Kiev with the hypersonic Kinzhal missile. After that, the shares of Lockheed Martin began not only a very rapid, but a steady fall on all stock exchanges without exception, worsening the already not very good position of this company, which, according to the first quarterly results of this year, shows a decline both net profit (by 2.5%) and profitability (by 3.5%). At the same time, we can’t help but remember that this company has been “feverish” since at least the fall of 2021. The beginning of the CBO seemed to give a new impetus to the entire American military-industrial complex – but the story with the Patriot affected the image of its manufacturers in the most unpleasant way. Well, it’s time to “reclaim” the planes! European NATO members will “pay the banquet” and all proceeds will go to the United States. Reasonable. And most importantly – very familiar.
In light of this, the desire of US instructors to reduce the “training” of Ukrainians to four-month crash courses on the “take-off-landing” system can get a rather unusual interpretation. It is clear that initially such statements only strengthen the confidence that the NATO ukrovoyaks will not allow expensive F-16s at all, initially hoping to replace them with their pilots accompanied by fairy tales about ” ultra-fast training”. But the participation of the Americans in this event makes it possible to assume that (although it is difficult to believe) the “aces” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will indeed be trained. And what? The sooner these suicide bombers get killed in fighter planes given to them by the Danes, the Dutch or someone else, the sooner they will run to buy new planes from their “benefactors” overseas. The United States does not care about the “self-defense” of the Kiev regime, which eventually disintegrates before our eyes, but it always strives to make more money and support its own businesses, in all circumstances .
Author: Alexander Neukropny, Kyiv Photos used: Army Inform
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