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☆ US Army says it could run out of funding to protect Europe and Africa without Ukraine's aid package
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewA US Army official has warned that it could run out of money for essential international global operations if the government fails to provide further funding for Ukraine. The unnamed official told CNN that the Army is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to support Ukraine, including funds that were initially intended to be used as part of the Europe and Africa Command budget. The Senate last week passed a $95 billion emergency defense-aid bill that could support Ukraine, Israel, and Tawain. A spokesperson for the US Army told BI that "it's important we receive money — now." AdvertisementThe Army official told CNN that it "would cease to exist" if funds weren't allocated from another area within the overall budget.

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☆ US Army under increasing pressure as it foots bill for Ukraine support
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Haley Britzky | Natasha Bertrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“We’re basically taking it out of hide in the Army,” a senior Army official told CNN. That includes not only the operations related to Ukraine support — training and ferrying weapons and equipment to Poland and Ukraine — but other operations for the US command throughout Europe and Africa. Those operations include training exercises for Army forces in Europe and Africa and equipment moving into the theater. Last week, the Senate voted to advance a $95.3 billion foreign aid bill, including $60 billion in support for Ukraine. So far in fiscal year 2024, the Army has spent $39.7 million on ground transportation, the first senior Army official told CNN.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Guard still has enough money on hand to complete the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets despite the U.S. running out of funds to send additional weapons and assistance to Kyiv, the head of the Guard Gen. Dan Hokanson said Thursday. President Joe Biden announced in August that the U.S. would begin training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16, as part of a multi-national effort to provide Ukraine the advanced fighter jets. Pilot training began in October at Morris Air National Guard base in Tucson, Ariz. But the pilot training has been able to continue, Hokanson said. “We do have the resources to continue the training that’s already started,” Hokanson said, and get that initial tranche completed this year.

Persons: Dan Hokanson, Joe Biden, Hokanson, “, that’s, ” Hokanson Organizations: WASHINGTON, National Guard, U.S, Guard, Morris Air National Guard, House Republicans, Air Force Locations: Kyiv, U.S, Ukraine, Tucson, Ariz, Congress, Russia, Mexico, Ukrainian

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (AP) — From underwater drones to electronic warfare, the U.S. is expanding its high-tech military cooperation with Australia and the United Kingdom as part of a broader effort to counter China’s rapidly growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with defense chiefs from Australia and the United Kingdom at the U.S. military’s defense technology hub in Silicon Valley on Friday to forge a new agreement to increase technology cooperation and information sharing. The three nations have laid out plans for the so-called AUKUS partnership to help equip Australia with a fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines. AUKUS is an acronym for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. He added that as an island nation, Australia has a need for improved maritime drones and precision strike capabilities.

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☆ Ukrainian fighter pilots could soon make the jump to real F-16s that don't fly quite like the jets they know best
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Ukrainian fighter pilots learning to fly the F-16 could soon make the jump to real combat aircraft. The F-16 flies a bit different from the fighter aircraft they know, namely MiG-29s and Su-27s. AdvertisementAdvertisementTwo U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft sits parked on flight line at MacDill Air Force Base, Sept. 8, 2021. US Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Lauren CobinSimulator training will help ease the transition with these potential differences, but getting up to speed in an actual plane still takes time. Training has been ongoing at the Danish military air base in Skrydstrup and in the US at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas and Morris Air National Guard Base in Arizona.

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The Ukrainian pilots are expected to arrive at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona, by October. Ukraine’s leaders have asked for fighter jets from the West since the earliest days of the war. Loh said the Air National Guard assessed the three-month timeline based on training Ukrainian pilots received on Fresno, California-based F-15Cs, another advanced Air National Guard fighter jet. That exposure allowed the Air National Guard to assess that Ukraine’s aviators were already using more Western tactics in flying and that it would not take long to bring them up to speed, Loh said. The nine-month timeframe is the estimate to get pilots with no previous fighter jet experience flying the F-16s, Loh said.

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He dreamed of F-16s in the Ukrainian sky,” said Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat in a statement Saturday. “He was an excellent communicator (and) the driving force behind reforms in the Air Force aviation, a participant in many projects,” he continued. He had campaigned for the supply of F-16s, the Air Force said. Portuguese Air Force F-16 military fighter jets participate in NATO's Baltic Air Policing Mission in Lithuanian airspace near Siauliai, on May 23, 2023. In 2022, Pilshchikov met with American government officials and was “in constant contact with Californian pilots,” the Air Force noted.

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☆ 3 Ukrainian pilots died in a disastrous mid-flight collision days after Western allies announced a new training initiative
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Three Ukrainian pilots were killed Friday after a midair collision during a training flight. The catastrophe comes as Western allies have begun offering pilot training to Ukraine's troops. "Yesterday, a disaster occurred in the sky over Zhytomyr region," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement released Saturday, confirming the pilots' deaths. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe catastrophe comes just days after the US announced plans to provide jet pilot training for Ukrainians flying F-16s that Denmark and the Netherlands have supplied from their fleets. The training, which will be conducted at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona, will begin in October.

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☆ The White House 180 on F-16s for Ukraine is complete
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration on Thursday announced plans to begin F-16 pilot training for Ukrainian troops. The offering is a marked shift from Biden's original position of not providing F-16s or training. In February, he ruled out providing F-16s; by May, he supported allies supplying jets. Russia's superior air power has been challenging for Ukrainian troops to overcome. Representatives for the White House and Ukraine Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

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But two months after President Joe Biden announced US support for training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s, there remain a number of critical details to work out. It is also still unclear which countries will commit F-16s to the training program – and to Ukraine itself once the program is finished. The training program will be for Ukraine and “also for other countries who are transitioning to the fourth generation fighter jets,” she said. The number of Ukrainian pilots set to be trained is also still being determined, but the Air Force memo recommended a pool of 10-12 participants. “The United States will not be the holdup in ensuring that this F-16 training can get under way.”

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☆ Kyiv is demanding F-16s and 2 Ukrainian pilots just proved they can master the jet 4 times faster than the Pentagon thought possible: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainian pilots can master F-16 jets in four months, per an Air Force document obtained by Yahoo News. The internal assessment is likely to ratchet up pressure on Biden to send Ukraine the planes. Four experienced US air force instructors assessed the Ukrainian pilots and determined the pilots could perform several "relatively technical" maneuvers, including landing after losing an engine and withstanding mock attacks, Yahoo News reported, citing the assessment. The two men were already qualified to operate a MiG-29 and Su-27 respectively, both Soviet-era fighter jets that comprise the majority of Ukraine's remaining air force, according to the outlet. But the report published by Yahoo on Thursday deduces that four months is a "realistic training timeline" for Ukrainian pilots to undergo training on the aircraft.

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