Reuters reported that on May 2, the Pentagon said the US State Department had approved a potential deal worth 310 million USD to provide a training and maintenance program for F-16 fighter jets, and related equipment to Ukraine.
The move comes just days after the US and Ukraine signed a deal strongly pushed by President Donald Trump, according to which Washington was given priority to access new mineral contracts in Ukraine and provide funding for the country's reconstruction.
Many F-16s have been delivered to Ukraine, but not from the US but from Western allies, according to the plane transfer program approved by the Biden administration.
Under Mr. Biden, more than $31 billion in weapons and equipment have been pledged to Ukraine under the Presidential drawdown Authority (PDA) mechanism, which allows the President to quickly approve the transfer of US weapons from the arsenal to allies in case of emergency.
The arms have not yet been fully transferred to Ukraine; the process is still ongoing, although the Trump administration temporarily suspended the aid in March to consider whether it is in line with his policies.
Meanwhile, according to the Pentagon, the F-16 deal is completely separate, seen as a weapons sale contract, not aid, with key contractors including Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, BAE systems and AAR Corporation.
The package can include aircraft upgrades and changes, flight training, maintenance assistance, replacement parts, repairs, ground equipment, confidential software, confidential documents and technical assistance.
