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| Lockheed Martin Ready to Support Production of F-16 Fighter to Ukraine If Allowed by the Government |
Washington - Lockheed Martin is ready to supply F-16 aircraft to European countries that will re-export these fighter aircraft to Ukraine. However, all licensing matters are in the hands of the government. The company is not directly involved in the negotiations.
Frank St. John, Lockheed Martin's Chief Operating Officer, said that currently there is a lot of talk about plans to transfer F-16 fighter jets to third countries. "Which means, these countries will re-export their US fighter jets to Ukraine to protect its airspace," he said.
It is worth noting that the White House has so far rejected Ukraine's request for advanced F-16 fighter jets due to fears these planes could be used to attack Russian territory. Meanwhile, the sale or transfer of American-made fighter jets to third countries must be approved by the US government. In other words, European countries need political support from the administration of President Joe Biden.
In Europe, re-export of F-16s from EU member states directly to Ukraine is believed to be one possible option. Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said the Netherlands would consider any request to send the F-16s with an open mind and that there was no taboo on military support.
The Netherlands has around 40 F-16s and is in the process of gradually replacing them with F-35s. As well as the Netherlands, seven other European NATO countries operate F-16s, including Poland, Norway and Romania.