() — The United States works with Ukrainian pilots in the US to determine how long they would need to learn to fly F-16 fighter jetsthree sources with knowledge of the matter told .
Two Ukrainian pilots are currently at a US military base where their skills are being tested on flight simulators to see how long it would take them to learn to fly various US military aircraft, including F-16s.
A US military official told reporters traveling with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to the Middle East that the Ukrainian pilots were in Tucson, Arizona, for “a familiarization event” that he described as a “military activity routine as part of our military-to-military dialogue with Ukraine.
“The familiarization event is essentially a discussion between Air Force personnel and an observation of how the US Air Force operates,” the official said.
“This event allows us to better help Ukrainian pilots to become more effective pilots and better advise them on how to develop their own capabilities.” The pilots will not be flying any platforms during this event, but will be using a simulator during parts of their visit.”
The official added that “there is no news to provide regarding the F-16s to Ukraine” and that there are no immediate plans to increase the number of Ukrainian pilots in the US.
Although there is currently no indication that flight training is underway, this step suggests that the US has not completely closed the door on F-16 supply.
Ukraine has pushed for the United States to provide fighter jets, and senior Ukrainian officials have intensified their public pressure campaign in recent days, arguing they need the planes to defend against Russian missile and drone attacks.
But this pressure has been met with skepticism by US and allied officials, who say the planes would be impractical because they require considerable training and Russia has extensive anti-aircraft systems that could easily shoot them down.
When was asked earlier if the United States would provide F-16s to Ukraine, President Joe Biden responded with a resounding “no.”
Early in the war, the United States also believed that supplying Ukraine with new fighter jets could lead to escalation between NATO and Russia.
In an interview with ABC News in February, Biden said Ukraine “doesn’t need F-16s right now,” despite repeated public pleas from Ukrainian officials and mounting pressure from congressional Republicans.
US and European officials had already told that the F-16 fighter jets they were not practical in this situation.
Last week, Germany completely ruled out sending fighter jets to Ukraine, while UK government officials echoed this view, saying it did not seem practical to send fighter jets to Ukraine.
The leaders of the Netherlands and Poland were also reticent when asked about sending F-16 fighter jets.
On Tuesday, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl told the House Armed Services Committee that it would take 18 months to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s, arguing that training pilots during that time would be cost prohibitive.
“It’s hard for me to say to any member of Congress or to the American people that the best use of that dollar spent right now is on F-16s,” Kahl said at the hearing.
NBC News first reported the assessment to the Ukrainian pilots.
