US State Department Reveals Possible Options of Sending F-16 Jets to Ukraine

Any potential transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, whether from the United States or from an allied operator, would take months.

According to Stan Brown, the department's principal deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, while the US has not itself announced any transfers of F-16 fighter aircraft to Ukraine to date, it supports other allies' intent to deliver those aircraft to Kyiv, reports Military Times.

Brown underlined that the transfer of such aircraft to Ukraine has to be a "holistic" approach, to include training both pilots and maintainers.

One of the first steps in a potential transfer of F-16 aircraft will be the license to train those airmen, before the license to transfer the aircraft even occurs.

Then, the aircraft themselves need to be identified – whether they'll be delivered via a third-party transfer or another mechanism – before developing a plan for the Ukrainian military to use the aircraft.

Brown mentioned that the State Department is already working to complete the paperwork for third-party transfer requests coming from nations like the Netherlands so that pilot training can begin.

He did not specify the timeline for when these documents will be ready but mentioned that "it is now progressing much faster."

Previously, Denmark and the Netherlands lead the "fighter jet coalition" discussing the training of Ukrainian pilots on Western combat aircraft and the potential supply of fighter jets.

The Danish government is ready to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine with the approval of the US aircraft manufactures.

Rutte stated that the Netherlands has not yet made a decision on sending of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine but is "seriously considering" such an option.