The Lockheed Martin company, which produces the F-16, has announced its readiness to supply aircraft to countries that will transfer their wings to Ukraine.
As informs Censor.NO, informs about it RBC-Ukraine with reference to the statement of the chief operating officer of Lockheed Martin, Frank St. John, which is cited by the Financial Times.
“There has been a lot of talk about the transfer of F-16s to third parties, as a result of which countries will re-export their American aircraft to Ukraine to protect the airspace. Lockheed is not directly involved in negotiations about the possible supply of military aircraft to Kyiv,” said Frank St. John.
According to him, the company is going to increase the production of F-16 in Greenville (USA). New planes will be needed by those countries that want to transfer their planes to Ukraine.
The publication notes that the US government must approve the sale or transfer of American-made fighter jets to third countries, which means that European countries will need political support from the administration of US President Joe Biden. European officials have said that re-exporting the F-16 directly to Ukraine by EU member states is one option.
Several Lockheed weapons systems are playing a key role on the battlefield in Ukraine, including the High Mobility Artillery Missile System (HIMARS), the guided missile multiple launch system (GMLRS), Javelin missiles and the recently delivered Patriot missile defense system.