In the US, the news has largely remained under the radar. The plan is part of a much larger plan that outlines the Pentagon’s funding for the coming year. There is also an obstacle to overcome with the Senate. But the Ukrainians undoubtedly. “Ukrainian pilots are trained for F15 and F16 aircraft in the United States,” a government official said.
These pilots are trained for a reason. And so speculation began again about how and when the Ukrainian Air Force would be assisted with new combat aircraft. Ukrainians still fly MiGs equipped with outdated Soviet technology.
escalation
America has always been hesitant. The White House fears that Ukrainian pilots will use American equipment to attack Russian regions as well. That would cause a major escalation. An earlier plan to send Polish Migs to Ukraine in exchange for American F-16s fell through because of this.
The Senate is not expected to vote on the budget and therefore the training plan until September. Even if this obstacle is overcome, it will still be some time before Ukrainian pilots can fly American planes. Training takes several months, and maintenance of the aircraft must also be arranged. In the meantime, it will have to decide which F16 and F15 planes will go to Ukraine. It seems likely that it will then be provided via an ally.
