Biden Admin To Arm Ukraine’s American-Made Fighter Jets With American-Made Advanced Weapons: Report

American-made F-16s set to be shipped to Ukraine will come with a boost of firepower as the Biden administration agreed to arm the fighter jets with advanced weaponry, including missiles made in the U.S., The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

Ukraine is expected to receive dozens of F-16s made in the U.S. as Denmark and the Netherlands, two NATO countries, are preparing to ship the fighter jets to Ukraine this summer. NATO countries Belgium and Norway are also expected to ship more F-16s to the European country later. Now, according to a senior U.S. official, Ukraine’s shipment of F-16s will also be equipped with advanced air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground munitions, and precision-guidance kits for bombs, WSJ reported.

“We are confident that we will be able to supply all of those [weapons], at least the critical volumes that they need,” the official said.

Maj. Gen. Rolf Folland, chief of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, applauded the move, saying, “The aircraft itself is worthless without the weapons.”

The Biden administration’s shipment of more weapons to Ukraine comes as the Pentagon faces limited inventory and production capability, according to WSJ. European countries and the U.S. have also scrambled to train Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16, and the Biden administration has considered expanding its use of American military facilities to train the Ukrainian pilots.

U.S. officials believe F-16s could greatly help Ukraine’s forces take out ground threats on the war’s front lines. The Ukraine-Russia war is nearing the 30-month mark as Ukraine struggles to keep Russian forces from advancing.

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The U.S. has led the world in military aid to Ukraine with another package to the European country — this one worth $1.7 billion — being announced by American leaders on Monday. The package was mostly centered on long-term contracts through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, but also included $200 million in immediate military aid for Ukraine, which was taken from Pentagon stockpiles, the Associated Press reported.

Last month, President Joe Biden signed a 10-year military assistance agreement with Ukraine as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky seeks to join NATO.

The agreement does not specify an exact dollar amount the U.S. must send to Ukraine and doesn’t require American troops to be deployed to defend the country, according to The Washington Post. Officials did say, however, that the deal promises that the U.S. would hold high-level consultations with Kyiv within 24 hours if Ukraine is attacked again.

“We want to demonstrate that the U.S. supports the people of Ukraine, that we stand with them, and that we’ll continue to help address their security needs not just tomorrow but out into the future,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in June.