Britain will not give Ukraine its fighter jets – government spokesperson

Great Britain plans to refrain from transferring its fighters to Ukraine because the Ukrainian side wants to train its pilots on American F-16s.

As reported by The Guardian, this was announced on Monday by the press secretary of the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Rishi Sunak.

"We have no plans to do that. The Ukrainians have decided to train their pilots on the F-16, and you know that the Royal Air Force does not use those planes," the spokesman said when asked if Britain would send fighter jets to Ukraine.

In February, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reportedly announced that the UK would develop a new training program for Ukrainian pilots to support efforts to build a new NATO-compliant air force in Ukraine with F16s.

The British government announced that Ukrainian pilots' initial basic training phase will start this summer. A program used by British pilots will be adapted to provide Ukrainians with piloting skills they can use on other aircraft types.

It is emphasized that these exercises are closely related to Great Britain's efforts to cooperate with other countries regarding the provision of  F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

For reference:

Colonel Dave Butler, the Speaker of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, recently expressed in an interview with RBC–Ukraine that the current resources allocated to the US Department of Defense would not suffice to provide Ukraine with the requested amount of F–16 fighter jets. He said that if the US were to supply such aircraft, it would be so expensive that the necessary weapons such as air defense, Patriots, artillery shells, and Abrams on approach could not be provided.

This was echoed by the Pentagon, who stated that a weighing of resources would need to be done in order to determine the feasibility of such an endeavor.

In March, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, stated that Ukraine needs F-16 fighter jets. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin mentioned during the hearings in the US Senate Committee on the Armed Forces that Ukraine's armed forces might receive F-16 IV generation fighters in the future.

Read also – Why does Ukraine need foreign jet fighters?