Lockheed Martin Says Ready to Train Ukrainians to Pilot F-16s Once NATO Reaches Agreement

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th June, 2023) Pentagon contractor Lockheed Martin is ready to train Ukrainians to fly and maintain F-16s, if NATO allies agree to send the jets to Kiev, Frank St. John, the defense manufacturer's chief operations officer, said on Monday.

"We are standing by, ready to not only backfill need as it arises with new F-16 builds but also any modifications to F-16s as well as training, equipment and systems," St. John was quoted by the Financial Times as saying ahead of the Paris Air Show, adding that a decision on this would be made only after discussions between Ukraine, the US and its NATO allies.

Lockheed Martin may also consider establishing a base in Ukraine or near its territory after conflict is over, the company official said.

"When these hostilities end, there will have to be a sustaining presence for training and maintenance and then the logical place would be for that to be in and around Ukraine," St.

John added.

Last week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the timing of the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine would depend on progress in the training of Ukrainian pilots.

Earlier in the month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a European Political Community press conference in Chisinau that a number of countries were ready to provide Ukraine with F-16s, the fighter jet of its choice.

Russia has slammed the possible delivery of F-16s to Ukraine, warning that the jets will become a legitimate military target for Russian forces. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that the delivery of F-16 fighters to Ukraine will be a further escalation because the jets have a modification that makes them nuclear-capable.