Source: Call for U.S. Contractors to Maintain F-16s in Ukraine Rejected | Newsmax.com
The National Security Council has rejected a military call to send American civilians to Ukraine to help maintain F-16 jet fighters and other Western-supplied military equipment after the intelligence community raised concerns that Russia could target the contractors, according to U.S. officials.
The Biden administration has been involved in a debate about the contractors since the Ukraine-Russia war began, but with the first six out of a promised 80 F-16 jets arriving in Ukraine, the argument has become more urgent, reports The Wall Street Journal Friday.
The administration hopes European countries will take on the maintenance of the fighter jets, but it has not ruled out sending Americans in to do the work, said Sean Savett, principal spokesman for the National Security Council.
Ukraine lost its first F-16 Monday during a Russian missile barrage, killing a prominent Ukrainian pilot. The cause of the crash hasn’t been disclosed, and an investigation remains underway.
It typically takes dozens of support personnel to work on the U.S. Air Force’s jet fighters, and the Pentagon says it hopes that Ukraine can do the maintenance. However, all countries, even the United States, rely on private contractors and personnel to service the planes.
Kyiv has hopes that the F-16s will help it keep control of the skies while shooting down Russian missiles, but could struggle to keep the planes up without the maintenance, including repairing and replacing parts.
据美国官员称，在情报界担心俄罗斯可能针对承包商后，国家安全委员会拒绝了派遣美国平民前往乌克兰帮助维护 F-16 喷气式战斗机和其他西方提供的军事装备的军事呼吁。 据《华尔街日报》星期五报道，自乌俄战争爆发以来，拜登政府一直参与有关承包商的争论，但随着承诺的 80 架 F-16 战斗机中的前六架抵达乌克兰，争论变得更加紧迫。 美国国家安全委员会首席发言人肖恩·萨维特表示，美国政府希望欧洲国家承担战机的维护工作，但也不排除派遣美国人参与这项工作。 周一，乌克兰在俄罗斯导弹袭击中损失了第一架 F-16，导致一名著名乌克兰飞行员丧生。事故原因尚未披露，调查仍在进行中。 美国空军的喷气式战机通常需要数十名支持人员进行维护工作，五角大楼表示希望乌克兰能够承担维护工作。然而，所有国家，甚至美国，都依赖私人承包商和人员来维修飞机。 基辅希望 F-16 能够帮助其在击落俄罗斯导弹的同时保持对天空的控制，但如果没有维护（包括修理和更换零件），可能很难让飞机保持正常运转。
