F-16s Aren’t ‘Magic Weapons,’ Pentagon Warns, as Russia Again Rejects Negotiations

Providing Ukraine with 10 F-16s could cost $2 billion, the joint chiefs of staff chairman says.

John Locher/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP
A U.S. Air Force F-16 refuels in mid-flight during a Red Flag exercise over the Nevada Test and Training Range on February 10, 2014. John Locher/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP

The American defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, said Thursday that European allies are developing a coordinated program to train Ukrainian forces on the F-16 fighter jet, but Pentagon leaders warned that it will be a costly and complex task and won’t be a magic solution to the war.

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