Washington Reportedly Rejects Plan to Send US Contractors to Maintain F-16s in Ukraine

Washington reportedly discussed sending US civilian contractors to help maintain American equipment in Ukraine, including the F-16 multirole fighters, but officials said the plan was ultimately scrapped due to security concerns.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing unnamed US officials, reported Friday that the US National Security Council considered sending US civilian contractors to maintain the F-16s in Ukraine, but that “the intelligence community and others deemed it too risky for now” and that Washington expected its European allies to take on the role.

“The intelligence community raised concerns over the prospect of Russia targeting American contractors in Ukraine,” an unnamed US official told the WSJ.

“This is something we are considering but have made no decisions,” said Sean Savett, principal spokesman for the National Security Council, in a statement.

It’s not clear which party initiated the discussion.

In June, Danish Air Force Commander Jan Dam said 50 Ukrainians had completed training to maintain the F-16 multirole fighters, with another 50 expected to commence training “immediately after the summer holidays.”

The first batch of F-16 fighters – reportedly six out of 80 pledged – likely arrived in Ukraine on July 31.

Ukraine lost its first F-16 on Monday, Aug. 26, during a Russian power grid strike, with President Volodymyr Zelensky confirming for the first time on Tuesday that the Western jet was used to defeat Russian drones and missiles during the strike.

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If this information is confirmed, it would be the first time such a weapon had been used since Russia invaded in February 2022.

The WSJ first reported the loss of the Ukrainian F-16 on Thursday, citing comments from an unnamed US official, who alleged that the plane crashed due to pilot errors and was not downed by Russia. Ukraine later confirmed the loss.

The Voice of America in Ukraine quoted an anonymous military official on Thursday that the Ukrainian military command was looking into various possibilities of the crash, including the possibility of friendly fire from Ukrainian air defenses.

Speaking to the radio outlet on condition of anonymity, the official said that various possibilities are being considered, including friendly fire, a technical malfunction, and pilot error.