Russian nuclear weapons are launched in Belarus, Wagner leaves Bahmut – Our war news on Friday

The issue of the F-16 fighter jets is a long-term issue for Ukraine, currently ground-based air defense is the most effective way to protect the country, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley said at a press conference in Washington on Thursday.

After the online meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which cooperates in the military supply of Ukraine, comprising 50 countries, Lloyd Austin called it necessary to provide additional assistance to the Ukrainian air defense. He added that to this end, the United States and its allies are negotiating with suppliers about the production of additional new air defense equipment. He highlighted the Norwegian-American developed NASAM medium-range air defense missile system.

The minister reported that in the coming weeks, the United States, in cooperation with the Netherlands and Denmark, which take a leading role in the program, will develop the training framework for the F-16 fighter jets for Ukrainian pilots. He also said that Norway, Belgium, Portugal and Poland have already offered their help in the training program, but other countries are still waiting.

Lloyd Austin also announced that at the meeting Oleksiy Reznikov Ukrainian defense reported on the latest events on the Ukrainian battlefield.

The Chief of the American General Staff stated that the Ukrainian armed forces have demonstrated a high degree of flexibility recently with the effective use of Patriot air defense systems, which will also be the case with the F-16 fighter jets.

Mark Milley at the same time, the general emphasized: cost-benefit risk analyzes show that the most effective in protecting Ukrainian airspace are the integrated air defense systems that have already been made available to Ukraine.

The fastest and most effective way to control the airspace is ground protection in the case of short, medium, and long range, said the Chief of Staff.

Regarding the F-16s, he noted that 10 such fourth- and fifth-generation fighters would cost a total of $1 billion, with an additional $1 billion in system costs, while the Russian military currently has 1,000 fighters of this category. Anyone who wants to compete with this must have a significant number of similar machines, he emphasized.

The chief of staff added that the F-16s may have a role over time and that Ukraine deserves to have them, but building an air force of its size and capabilities will take time.

Now the smartest thing is what they have followed so far, i.e., that Ukraine was provided with air defense systems in order to take air superiority away from the Russian side, which also enabled ground successes for the Ukrainian forces, said General Mark Milley of the International Defense of Ukraine After the contact group meeting.

(MTI)