The rift between the West and Russia is deepening even more, after the decision to grant heavy armaments, which will certainly bring about a strong Russian response.
Lockheed Martin has announced that it is ready to meet demand for F-16 jets, as some of Ukraine's closest European allies want to give those fighter jets to Kyiv.
The US-German decision to send LEOPARD tanks to Ukraine has reignited discussions that European defense officials warned were at an early stage.
Frank St. John, Lockheed Martin's chief operating officer, told the FT there had been "a lot of talk about third-party transfers of F-16s", whereby countries would re-export US fighters to Ukraine to defend its airspace.
Lockheed is not directly involved in talks about the possible delivery of military aircraft to Kyiv.
However, St. John said the company would "increase production of F-16s in Greenville [South Carolina] to be able to supplement with a large enough capacity any countries that choose to make aircraft transfers to help with the current conflict."
US rejects Ukrainian request for F-16s for now
The White House has so far rejected Ukraine's calls for modern fighter jets such as the F-16, fearing they could be used to strike Russian territory. The US government must approve sales or transfers to third countries of US-made fighter jets, meaning European countries will need political support from the Biden administration.
"Along with our international allies and partners, we are in regular communication with the Ukrainians about their needs and requests," a US defense official said. "Right now, we have nothing to announce about the F-16s," he said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz ruled out sending fighters to Ukraine. "I've made it very clear from very early on that we're not going to send in fighter jets and I'll say that again here," he said on Wednesday.
EU member states wanting to give F-16s directly to Ukraine are a range of options, European officials said, noting that US jets could also be sent from Western states to former Warsaw Pact countries that could then send their own Soviet-made fighters to Kyiv.
At the start of the war, Warsaw offered to send Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets to the Ukrainian air force, asking the US to send F-16s to fill the void in the Polish air force. The initiative was abandoned in March after Washington did not approve it.
Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said last week that the Netherlands would consider any requests to send F-16s with an "open mind" and that there were no "taboos" on military support. The Netherlands has about 40 F-16s and is in the process of phasing them out through the purchase of more advanced F-35s.
In addition to the Netherlands, seven other European NATO countries fly F-16s, including Poland, Norway and Romania.
Several of Lockheed's weapons systems have played key roles on the Ukrainian battlefield, including the High Mobility Artillery Missile System (Himars), the Guided Multiple Launch Missile System (Gmlrs), the Javelin missiles, and the more recently delivered Patriot missile defense system, including the one accompanying the PAC-3 missiles.
