F-16s aren't 'magic weapon' to win Ukraine war: US general
WASHINGTON – Pentagon leaders said Thursday they would not drop their earlier objections to sending Ukraine F-16 jets over air defense systems — despite President Biden authorizing the training of Kyiv’s pilots on the aircraft last week.
Though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been requesting F-16s since the war’s early months, Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reiterated it was more sensible to first offer weapons such as NASAMS air-defense and Patriot missile systems to prevent Russia from dominating the skies.
“The fastest, quickest and cheapest way to control that airspace was from the ground – you can either do it from the air or from the ground – and providing effective integrated air defense systems at the low-altitude short-range, mid-altitude, mid-range and high-altitude long-range,” he said. “That is the most effective way to deny air superiority to the Russians. And that’s exactly what they did.”
Pentagon leaders said they would not drop their earlier objections to sending Ukraine F-16 jets. Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images
Speaking after a monthly meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which brings together more than 50 nations to coordinate military aid for Kyiv, Milley said sending just 10 F-16s to Ukraine would cost $1 billion, plus an additional $1 billion to keep them in use.
“The Russians have 1,000 fourth and fifth-generation fighter [jets,] so if you’re going to contest Russia in the air, you’re going to need a substantial amount,” he said. “So if you look at the cost curve and do the analysis, the smartest thing to have done is exactly what we did do, which is provide a significant amount of integrated air defense to cover the battlespace and deny the Russians the airspace, and that is exactly what happened.”
But with the battlefield shifting and Russia unable to secure more than a few towns in eastern Ukraine, getting F-16s into Ukrainian hands is becoming a reality. Austin on Thursday said the US will soon team up with Denmark and the Netherlands to develop a training framework for the Ukrainians.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been requesting F-16s since the war’s early months. ZUMAPRESS.com
Norway, Belgium, Portugal and Poland have also offered to help train pilots once the framework is complete, he said.
“Starting work on the F-16 now is an important example of our long-term commitment to Ukraine security,” Austin said.
Still, Milley that cautioned that adding the aircraft to Ukraine’s arsenal will not instantly settle the 15-month-long war.
“There’s no magic weapons in war. And sometimes certain things get labeled as you know, this is gonna be the magic weapon,” Milley said. “There are no magic weapons, and the F-16 is not – neither is anything else.”
Gen. Milley said sending just 10 F-16s to Ukraine would cost $1 billion, plus an additional $1 billion to keep them in use. Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images
But don’t expect to see F-16s over Ukraine’s skies anytime soon as Kyiv prepares for a counter-offensive to liberate Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. Milley said that training pilots on the platforms is more about offering Ukrainians a future capability that’s better aligned with Western systems.
“This was hardcore military analysis that looks at cost, benefit and risk and what is the need on the battlefield now and in the near future?,” he said. “The F-16 is a much longer view.”
The US has not yet committed to directly sending Ukraine F-16s, but other NATO allies, such as Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway also have the aircraft in their inventories and may offer them to Ukraine.
Source: New York Post
