The US State Department says that the transfer of the F-16 to Ukraine will take months.

At the same time, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Military and Political Affairs, Stanley Brown, clarified that although the United States has not yet made its decision on the provision of aircraft, it will support the corresponding decision of its partners. Brown explained that the fighter transfer process is holistic — it includes the training of pilots and technicians. One of the first steps should be a flight license for Ukrainian pilots. And then it will be necessary to determine how the planes will be handed over to the Armed Forces.

“The State Department is already working on the paperwork for transfer requests from third countries,” Brown said. He added that it is currently unknown when exactly the documents will be ready, but now the process is moving forward much faster.