The United States has agreed to transfer its missiles to Ukraine to equip F-16 fighter jets that Kyiv will receive from European partners, reports Yevropeyska Pravda, citing The Wall Street Journal.
These are AGM-88 HARM air-to-ground missiles, long-range JDAM munitions that turn unguided bombs into smart weapons, small-sized GLSDB precision-guided munitions, medium-range AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, and short-range AIM-9X air-to-air missiles.
WSJ sources noted that the Pentagon has limited stockpiles of missiles and production capabilities, but Kyiv will receive enough to meet its immediate needs.
- Since the European members of the fighter jet coalition did not want to give Ukraine a large amount of their limited stocks of F-16 ammunition, they agreed to a proposal that the US should provide the ammunition, as it is a member of the coalition but does not provide Kyiv with aircraft.
- Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans said that F-16 fighter jets would be delivered to Ukraine in the near future.
In addition, the Netherlands is allocating an additional €300 million for the purchase of ammunition for the F-16.According to the Dutch Ministry of Defence, these pilots can now be used in operational deployments.