The US and its allies plan to offer Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, a White House official has stated.
The timing for when Ukraine will obtain the jets - and which international locations will present them - stays unclear, however the official stated the planes won't be used for Ukraine's upcoming counteroffensive towards Russia.
The US and its allies will "decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them", the official stated.
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The transfer comes after US President Joe Biden beforehand refused requests from Volodymyr Zelenskyy for F-16 jets.
The Ukrainian president often asks world leaders for fighter plane, which till now have been rebuffed.
On a go to to London, he even introduced the Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle with a Ukrainian airforce helmet to bolster his level.
Western leaders have argued that coaching on the plane would take too lengthy. It would even be a number of the most subtle {hardware} offered for Ukraine, elevating the stakes between Russia and the West.
It is known the F-16s might not essentially come from the US.
The transfer is a part of a long-term effort to strengthen Ukraine's safety, the White House official stated.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multi-role fighter plane developed for the United States Air Force.
It has an inner M61 Vulcan cannon and 11 places for mounting weapons and different gear.
Its payload sometimes consists of two 2,000lb (907kg) bombs, two AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles, two AIM-120 medium-range air-to-air missiles and two 2,400lb (1088kg) exterior gas tanks.
The jet can journey at speeds as much as 1,500mph and has a spread of greater than 2,002 miles.
It has a wingspan of 32ft 8in (9.9m) and a size of 49ft 5in (13.8m). It weighs 19,700lb (8935kg) with out gas and has a most takeoff weight of 37,500lb (17010kg).
There is each a single-seat and two-seat mannequin of the plane.
During the Gulf War in 1991, F-16s had been used to assault airfields, army manufacturing services, Scud missile websites and different targets.
They had been additionally used within the NATO bombing of army infrastructure in former Yugoslavia in 1999, in addition to in Iraq and Afghanistan.
They are operated by a number of international locations aside from the US, together with Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
"Discussions about improving the Ukrainian Air Force reflect our long-term commitment to Ukraine's self-defence," the senior Biden administration official added.
Mr Biden stated in an interview with ABC News in February that US army recommendation confirmed Ukraine didn't want F-16s on the time.
"I'm ruling it out for now," he stated.
However, Mr Biden knowledgeable G7 leaders on Friday that the US will help efforts to coach Ukrainian pilots how one can fly F-16s.
The effort to coach Ukrainian pilots on the jets might begin within the coming weeks, the official stated.
The coaching will "take place outside Ukraine at sites in Europe and will require months to complete", the official added.
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte stated: "Together with my British, Danish and Belgian colleagues we welcome the news that the United States stands ready to approve the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighterjets."
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Colin Kahl, the Pentagon's prime coverage official, beforehand informed Congress that coaching Ukrainian pilots on F-16s might take "about 18 months".
Other US defence officers have stated the coaching may very well be shortened to solely six to 9 months based mostly on pilots' earlier coaching and information of fighter plane.
Mr Kahl has beforehand stated that it might value as much as $11bn (£9bn) to revitalise Ukraine's army with F-16 jets.
G7 leaders haven't introduced who would pay to offer Ukraine with the planes.
In March, NBC News reported that two Ukrainian pilots had been within the US present process an evaluation to find out how lengthy it might take to coach them to fly assault plane, together with F-16s.
Washington had additionally authorized bringing as much as 10 extra Ukrainian pilots to the US for additional evaluation.
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