US to Equip F-16s for Ukraine with Latest Weapons

The United States will arm dozens of F-16 jet fighters sent to Ukraine with American-made bombs and missiles and other advanced weapons.

This was reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials.

It is noted that Denmark and the Netherlands are to deliver F-16s to Ukraine this summer, and later the planes will arrive from Belgium and Norway. However, the issue of weapons for the aircraft remains unresolved.

A senior US official told the newspaper that although the Pentagon has limited stockpiles and production capabilities, it will supply the F-16s with air-to-ground munitions, precision-guided bombs and advanced air-to-air missiles in sufficient quantities to meet Ukraine's most urgent needs.

‘We are confident that we will be able to supply all of this, at least the critical volumes that they need,’ the official said.

According to the WSJ, Ukraine will receive from the US:

- AGM-88 HARM air-to-ground missiles,

- extended-range versions of the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) kits, which turn unguided bombs into smart weapons;

- small diameter bombs (GLSDB);

- medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAM);

- AIM-9X short-range air-to-air missiles for jet aircraft.

In Europe, many countries were reluctant to send large amounts of their limited stockpiles of aerial munitions to Ukraine, so the allies proposed what the Pentagon called a ‘leapfrog’ solution. European countries could pool their finances to buy aviation weapons from the United States to send to Ukraine, the US official said.

The US and its allies have refused to provide a specific timeline for the delivery of the aircraft and weapons to Ukraine due to security concerns.

The WSJ notes that it is unclear how the F-16s will be used against Russian troops. A US official said that Washington would limit Ukraine's use of the planes for strikes on Russian territory, as it has done with other weapons. Kyiv will be allowed to use them on Russian territory only in response to attacks from abroad.

Ukraine wants to use F-16s to fly to the border and shoot at Russia, but this tactic is unrealistic in the current environment, a US official said, because of the threat from Russian surface-to-air missiles.

U.S. officials say the most effective use of the F-16 in Ukraine is what is known as air support, or eliminating ground threats to troops on the front lines. The Europeans, on the other hand, say the F-16s could be used for air defence and potentially to push the Russian air force further away from the front line, where Russian aircraft launch thousands of guided bombs every month.