The Moscow Times
May 2, 2025
The U.S. Department of State approved the sale of training and technical support for F-16 fighters to Ukraine, as well as related equipment for a total amount of $310.5 million. This is reported on the website of the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).
The package includes: modernization of F-16 aircraft; training of Ukrainian personnel; operational and technical support; supply of spare parts, consumables and repair kits; delivery and maintenance of ground equipment. It also includes assistance in working with classified and unclassified software; transfer of technical documentation, publications and reference materials; engineering research, technical inspections and logistics services from both the U.S. government and private contractors.
As emphasized in the State Department, the initiative serves the purposes of U.S. foreign policy and national security. It is aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s defense capability, which the United States considers an important partner and “a strength of political stability and economic progress in Europe”. Support will increase Ukraine’s ability to resist current and potential threats, provide high-quality training for Ukrainian pilots and strengthen the interoperability of the Ukrainian Air Force with the U.S. Air Force through integration into a unified training and maintenance system, the DSCA said.
“This decision is consistent with the efforts of the international coalition to create the Ukrainian F-16 program and the general modernization of the Ukrainian Air Force. Ukraine will be able to easily integrate the equipment and services provided into its armed forces,” the DSCA statement says.
The key contractors under the contract will be Valiant Integrated Services, Top Aces Corporation, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Pratt and Whitney, Snap-on Inc., BAE Systems Inc., AAR Corporation and Comsetra LLC.