Ukrainian Air Force officially requests 128 fighter jets from the US

Ukraine, through official channels, made a request from the United States for the supply of 128 fighters. These are aircraft of different types – F -15, F -16 and F -18.This was stated by US Deputy Secretary of Defense for Political Affairs Colin Kahl, speaking before the House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services.According to the official, “this will absorb a huge portion of the remaining security assistance that we have for this fiscal year.”According to Kahl, Ukraine will eventually need 50 to 80 F-16s to replace its current aircraft.

If the United States supplies newly built aircraft, their delivery to Ukraine will take from three to six years, and if the United States sends refurbished old F-16s, then from 18 to 24 months.In general, US officials from the Department of Defense are still negative about the supply of fighters, believing that now it is necessary to focus on ground equipment and weapons.Recall that US President Joe Biden in early February was also against the supply of fighter jets to us. He told reporters last week that he had discussed the issue with Zelenskiy during his February 20 visit to Kyiv, but did not reveal the details of the discussion.Photo by Sergey Smolentsev