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A decorated former US Air Force pilot said he would fly fighter jets to Ukraine if necessary.
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Retired Lieutenant Colonel Dan “Two Dogs” Hampton discussed the potential of the US F-16 in the war over Ukraine.
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“I’ll even go myself, you can count on me,” the retired lieutenant colonel told a VoA interview.
Dan Hampton, a retired lieutenant colonel known as the US Air Force’s “deadliest F-16 pilot,” said in an interview with Voices of America that he was ready to pilot planes for the Ukrainian military himself if necessary.
The highly decorated pilot, known as “Two Dogs,” spent 20 years in the Air Force, fought in the wars in the Persian Gulf, Kosovo, and Iraq, and is a New York Times best-selling author for his memoirs from his time in the army.
Speaking from a base in Arizona, Hampton discussed his thoughts in the lengthy interview on training F-16 pilots to fight in the war in Ukraine, the benefits of using the jets, and whether the Ukrainian government should allow private pilots hire while the war continues. into his second year.
The F-16, an American single-seat fighter jet, is in the news after President Joe Biden recently said he would not deliver the planes to Ukraine for the time being. However, both Democratic and Republican senators have urged the Pentagon to send the jets that “could prove to be a game changer on the battlefield,” according to Politico.
Earlier this week, Poland became the first NATO country to confirm it would send MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine.
“No one has ever won a war from the air,” Hampton claimed. “You can’t win a war from the air, but you can lose a war if you don’t control the skies,” he told VoA. US government helps finance.
Hampton told the interviewer that the Ukrainian government could hire private contractors who already know how to fly F-16s, which “costs you time” and “helps you win the war.”
‘I’ll even go myself. You can count on me,” Hampton said.
Retired Lieutenant Colonel Hampton, 58, flew 151 missions in his distinguished career between 1986-2006. According to VoA, he is the most decorated airman since the Vietnam War, winning the Purple Heart, four Distinguished Flying Crosses for extraordinary heroism, and eight United States Air Force “Air Medals” for valor in airborne combat operations.
The retired lieutenant colonel reiterated his commitment to the Ukrainian cause after explaining that he thought it would be faster to send pilots who know how to fly instead of “sending Ukrainian pilots to the US and sending them to a training program to send”.
The Russian Su-35 fighter is “junk,” says the former pilot
According to NBC News, two Ukrainian pilots were recently sent to Arizona to let US authorities determine how long it would take them to train to fly the jets and improve their skills.
Hampton called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “black and white” issue of “good versus evil”, and said he hoped “governments that can provide these services should do so”.
“I’ll even go myself,” he repeated, “I’ll be number one. You can count on me.”
Hampton also compared F-16 aircraft – a versatile fighter capable of air-to-surface and air-to-air attacks – to Russia’s Su-35 jets, saying the Russian model used in the war “looks good at air shows “. but that they are “junk” in his opinion.
Meanwhile, a US Air Force official said earlier this week that fighter jets were “worthless” over Ukraine because both sides of the conflict have mastered long-range missile defenses, Insider previously reported.
Read the original article on Business Insider
