Kyiv’s quest for Western-made fighters was handed a major boost of May 19, when US President Joe Biden backed international plans for Ukrainian Air Force (UkrAF) pilots to be trained to fly the long-desired F-16 Fighting Falcon and for European operators of the multi-role fighter to transfer their ‘Vipers’ to Ukraine.
Reports of Biden’s decision to support the international plan came ahead of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, held from May 19-21, with the US President informing other world leaders of his administration’s shift in support for the effort. The move was welcomed by both Western leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who took to Twitter to say that the US’s support for the international fighter jet coalition will “greatly enhance our army in the sky,” and that the “practical implementation” of such plans would be further discussed at the Hiroshima summit.
This move represents a major shift in the Biden administration’s stance on Ukraine’s need for Western-made combat aircraft, specifically Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Fighting Falcon – something that the US has opposed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. On May …
