Pentagon: it is possible that the F-16 will never get to Ukraine

The US Department of Defense (Pentagon) reported that it is possible that the States may not send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. The Ukrainian Armed Forces had previously asked US officials for more than 128 F-16s, but US officials estimated that Kyiv would need 50 to 80 of these fourth-generation fighters in the future. US Under Secretary of Defense for Political Affairs Colin Call said Washington believes sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine is not a priority and it is possible that the Ukrainian authorities may never receive the fighters,  AAA reports. The US Deputy Secretary of Defense added: "Given that the United States and its allies have not yet decided to send these new generation fighters to Ukraine, it makes no sense to start training Ukrainian pilots in the use of these aircraft." According to a Pentagon official, the production of new F-16 fighter jets for Ukraine will take the United States de facto three to six years, and the delivery of old models will take at least one and a half to two years. Meanwhile, Colin Cull acknowledged that the war in Ukraine showed that the US military-industrial base could not provide the necessary level of production of ammunition.