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U.S. to arm Ukraine’s F-16 jets with advanced weapons - Media

30 July 2024 17:36 (UTC +04:00)

The U.S. has agreed to arm dozens of F-16 jet fighters being sent to Ukraine with American-made missiles and other advanced weapons, addressing a longstanding question about the Western aircraft, The Wall Street Jorunal wrote, APA reports.

Denmark and the Netherlands are preparing to send the first American-made F-16s to Ukraine this summer, and more will come later from Belgium and Norway. But until now the source of critical weapons for the planes has been unresolved.

Though the Pentagon has limited inventory and production capability, it will supply the F-16s with air-to-ground munitions, precision-guidance kits for bombs and advanced air-to-air missiles in sufficient quantities to meet Ukraine’s most urgent needs, a senior U.S. official said.

“We are confident that we will be able to supply all of those [weapons], at least the critical volumes that they need,” the U.S. official said.The weapons for the F-16 that the U.S. is sending include AGM-88 HARM air-to-ground missiles; the extended-range versions of Joint Direct Attack Munition kits, which convert unguided bombs to smart weapons; and so-called small diameter bombs that explode with a tight blast radius. In addition, the U.S. will send advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, known as AMRAAM, and AIM-9X short-range air-to-air missiles for the jets.