Six Weapon Systems Ukraine wants or for which it already has commitments, including the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), F-16, A-10C, Saab JAS 39 Gripen, M1A2 Abrams Tank, Small Diameter Ground Launched Bomb (SDGLB), Leopard 1 Tank.
On January 31, 2022, Ukraine’s defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov was asked if Biden’s ”no” to F-16s was the final word. This was his response.
“All types of help first passed through the ‘no’ stage,” Reznikov said. “Which only means ‘no’ at today’s given moment. The second stage is, ‘Let’s talk and study technical possibilities.’ The third stage is, ‘Let’s get your personnel trained.’ And the fourth stage is the transfer of equipment.”
The Path of Escalation
The path of escalation is that of the slippery slope where defense industry experts convince the Biden administration that just one more very expensive weapon system will give Ukraine what it needs to win.
Weapon Systems for which the answers was initially "no" include but are not limited to:
Ground-launched small diameter bombs (precision guided) with range of nearly 100 miles. Will be launched from HIMARS provided by the United States. Promo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdW2R4HuUwg
Tanks - U.S. to provide some 31 M1Ax Abrams tanks to Ukraine
Tanks - Leopard Tanks provided by Germany
Patriot Missile Defense Systems - U.S. will provide training and systems to Ukraine
Other weapon systems for which Ukraine has been told "no" include:
Missile systems with a range of at least 300 kilometer such as the United State's Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS)
F-16 Fighters
Saab JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets
A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthog" close air support fighter
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