Paris: We can deliver Rafale to Ukraine, this is not a taboo
PARIS, FRANCE — French Defense Minister Mr. Sébastien Lecornu said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Defense Minister Mr. Alexy Reznikov in Paris on Tuesday that there are no taboos on the delivery of fighter jets to Kyiv.
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“On this issue, we rely on three criteria,” Lecorneau said, adding that these criteria had already been expressed by French President Emmanuel Macron.
We recall that Macron on Monday said that Paris allows the delivery of aircraft to Ukraine. At the same time, the French leader said that he would proceed from three criteria: the usefulness and effectiveness of the weapons for the armed forces of Ukraine, the absence of the risk of escalation and the weakening of the defense capability of the French army.
London refused… for now
A British government spokesman said it would be impractical to send British fighter jets to Ukraine now. “The UK’s Typhoon and F-35 fighter jets are extremely complex and take months to learn to fly. Given this, we believe that sending these aircraft to Ukraine is impractical,” the spokesman said.
“We will continue to provide and accelerate our military support to Ukraine and listen carefully to their requests,” he added.
Asked if the government had any objections to sending less advanced aircraft from other allies, the spokesman said: “We will continue to discuss with our allies what we think is the right approach. We have just sent our Challenger tanks and we are moving together with our allies in that direction. Those tanks will arrive soon enough.”
On Monday, United States President Joe Biden said the United States has no plans to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
The Netherlands and Poland
BulgarianMilitary.com recalls that first the Netherlands, then Poland expressed readiness to supply F-16 fighters to Ukraine. In both cases, US authorization will be required to carry out such a re-transfer.
According to rumors in the public space, the issue of the delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine will be discussed at the next meeting in Germany. Rumor has it that she will be back at the Ramstein base in February.
Ukraine would receive new fighter jets in an attempt to reduce Russian superiority over Ukrainian skies at the moment. But Ukraine’s air force also admits it will take time to train its pilots to fly the new fighters. According to a source from the Ukrainian Air Force, six months is the optimal training option.
It is no secret that Ukrainian pilots were trained in the USA on simulators of the A-10 attack aircraft. He was among the most linked names for possible delivery of aircraft. However, Washington and its allies are looking for an opportunity to buy and supply Soviet-designed fighters. In this case, there will be no need to waste time in training.
After Ukraine’s allies remembered a new phase of supplies at the beginning of the year, Kyiv is expecting the arrival of Leopard 2, Challenger 2, and Abrams tanks. The first tanks are expected to start arriving in about three months. The American Abrams will arrive by the end of the year and next, which is quite a stretch in 12 months.
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