U.S. Authorizes Millions in F-16 Support for Ukraine, No Jets Included
(MENAFN) The U.S. State Department has authorized a substantial $310 million initiative focused on training Ukrainian pilots and ensuring the upkeep of their future F-16 fighter jets, as announced by the Pentagon on Friday.
The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) elaborated that this initiative includes modifications to the aircraft, pilot training, maintenance support, spare parts, ground support equipment, and specialized software. Key players in this agreement are Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, BAE Systems, and AAR Corporation. The DSCA emphasized that this package does not include any actual aircraft, as the jets will be supplied by NATO allies instead of directly from the U.S.
This support effort builds on a prior $266.4 million deal approved in December 2024 under the Biden administration, which aimed at providing mission planning systems and vital maintenance tools for the F-16s. Several NATO countries, such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and Belgium, have committed to delivering a total of 79 F-16 aircraft to Ukraine, with additional shipments expected throughout 2025.
In a related development, FlightGlobal, a U.K.-based aviation and aerospace intelligence firm, reported the loading of a shrink-wrapped F-16 fuselage onto an Antonov An-124 cargo plane at a desert airfield. Flight data revealed that the An-124 landed at Tucson, Arizona, airbase on April 25 and left for Poland the following day.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept
any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images,
videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright
issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
