Pentagon announces delivery dates for first F-16 fighter jets for Ukraine

The Pentagon expects that this year Ukraine will receive the first American F-16 fighter jets, as well as the corresponding infrastructure and spare parts.

Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Celeste Wallander, stated this.

"We are working as a coalition on the F-16 program and aim to ensure the initial operational readiness of Ukraine with its F-16 program in 2024," she commented.

Celeste Wallander also added that this program covers pilot training, platforms, technician training, as well as spare parts and ammunition.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine expects that the first F-16 fighters will appear in Ukraine in the spring of 2024.

In December, it became known that the first six Ukrainian pilots underwent basic training for flying F-16 aircraft in Great Britain and are now learning to fly fighter jets in Denmark.

According to the Pentagon representative General Patrick Ryder, the training of Ukrainian pilots on American F-16 fighters can last from 5 to 9 months.