U.S. to help Ukraine develop its Air Force - Austin

Ukraine's partners agreed to form several "capability coalitions" designed to strengthen the Armed Forces for the long term.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said this following the 16th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Today, we also talked about helping Ukraine to defend itself for the long haul and to deter aggression for decades to come. So members of this contact group are organizing into what we capability coalitions and that's going to make our security assistance more nimble and help to secure Ukraine's future," Austin said.

According to the defense secretary, several such coalitions have already been formed. " Estonia and Luxembourg will lead a coalition focused on supporting Ukraine's its infrastructure right on the premium territory," Austin noted, adding that Lithuania has taken a leadership position in neutralizing Russian mines on Ukraine’s soil.

He emphasized that the U.S., together with Denmark and the Netherlands, will lead the coalition for the development of the Ukrainian Air Force. "By leading this capability coalition, the United States will coordinate closely with Ukraine and other partners with the focus on developing Ukraine's F-16 fighter aircraft capability," the defense secretary said.

The chief of the Pentagon added that the U.S. "will be joining several more of these coalitions as they form in the coming weeks, including those focused on Ukraine's air defense, armor and artillery.”

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Lloyd Austin announced at the start of the 16th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group ("Ramstein" format) in Brussels on Wednesday that the United States is allocating a new package of military aid to Ukraine in the amount of $200 million.

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