Also, we're tracking
new developments
overnight as Ukraine
may be getting one step closer
to receiving those U.S.
made F-16 fighter jets.
Officials are now telling CNN
that the Biden administration
has signaled to European
allies that the US would approve
the export of the jets to Ukraine
if that's
what they decide to do with their supply.
The White House has been under increasing
pressure from allies and members
of Congress to help Ukraine
secure the planes
as Russia's
aerial attacks
have only continued to intensify,
especially this month alone.
CNN's insatiable
trend is live at the Pentagon.
Natasha, obviously
we've seen the US initially say,
you know, we're not going to send tanks,
we're not going to send rocket launchers,
we're not going to send these air
defense missiles
only to later released
and so the question is,
is that what we think
is going to happen here?
Yeah, there
certainly have been many lines
that the administration said it
previously would not cross, that
it has now crossed
with regard to many weapons
it has sent to Ukraine.
But right now,
we're still seeing a lot of reluctance
by the US to signal
that it would send its own
F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
Of course,
the US has a large stockpile of those.
Instead, they are telling
us, officials are telling us
that they will not block
European allies
who have these supply of F-16
fighter jets
from exporting them
to Ukraine themselves,
if that is what they want to do.
And this is really significant
because the US has to approve
any transfer of these F-16 jets
to Ukraine
or to any third country at all
because of sensitive US technology
that is in those jets.
So previously it was unclear
whether the administration
would approve
the export of these fighter jets.
Now we are hearing that
they have signaled to the allies
that if that is
what they want to do with their jets,
then the US is not going to stand
in their way.
And this is really significant also
because the Ukrainians
without these fighter jets,
they have had to improvise.
We are told that the Ukrainians
have used a Patriot missile
at least once
to shoot down
a Russian fighter jet,
which is not necessarily
what they're designed to do.
So with these jets, the administration
and officials argue
it will be a lot easier
for them
to counter the Russian jets
potentially gain
superiority in their skies.
Now, all of this comes
as the administration is telling us
that there was
actually an accounting error
in the military aid funding
over the last couple of months
that they have just discovered
that actually frees up
an additional $3 billion
in draw down authorities.
So the Ukrainians really anticipating
that a boon to U.S.
aid to
the Ukrainians
could be coming quite soon. Caitlin.
Yeah, and I know
lawmakers have a lot of questions
about how that accounting error happened
but we'll get to that.
But also, this other story
that's on the front page
of The Washington Post today
caught my eye.
There was a missile
or a strike
that happened in Syria earlier
this month that the US said
took out an influential al Qaeda leader.
And now we're hearing from
Central Central Command
that they are investigating it, saying
it may have resulted in a civilian
that was killed in Syria.
What do you know about this?
Yeah, Caitlin.
So according
to a statement overnight
from Central Command,
they are investigating
whether a air strike or a U.S.
airstrike on May 3rd in northwest Syria
actually did not kill a senior
Al Qaida leader as Central
Command had previously stated
in a tweet
earlier this month,
but that it actually resulted
in the death of a civilian.
Now, it had been very unclear earlier
this month when Central Command
announced that
they had conducted this strike.
Who the target actually was,
because they had never identified
the supposed senior al Qaeda leader
that they had allegedly killed.
Well, now we're learning
that it may not have been a senior
al Qaeda figure at all that they killed,
but it was actually a civilian farmer.
So they are investigating
that now, Caitlin,
and we'll wait for those results.
Yeah, and certainly why people ask for evidence
when they both felt something like this.
Natasha, keep us updated thank you.
Joining us now for
the military perspective on
this is retired Air
Force Colonel Cedric Leighton,
a CNN
military analyst and former member,
I should note, of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon.
Thank you so much for being here.
Obviously, the F-16 is something
we've been talking about for so long,
whether or not
they are going to be able
to get them develop this air superiority
they've not been.
Ukraine has not been able to do so far.
But the pushback we've heard from
the US has been
it takes so long
to train
the Ukrainian forces on these F-16s.
What's the sense
of how it could help, though?
Yeah, that's a great question, Caitlin.
So let's take a look at the F-16,
because what you're looking at here
is a very versatile aircraft.
And, you know,
when you see what it can do,
I mean, it can fly at 1500
miles per hour.
It uses
what are known as radiation detection
and target to target air defense systems.
So this is very important
because what it's going to be able to do
is it's going to be able to go
after Russian air defense areas,
such as the AC
300 of the missile system
that's there, the S-400 potentially.
But those are also very dangerous weapons
for this kind of an aircraft.
It is not a stealth fighter.
It has a 20 millimeter gun.
It's basically an air to air
and an air to ground combat platform.
And that's one of the main reasons,
because of its versatility,
that the Ukrainians want this aircraft.
Yeah, very versatile, obviously,
something they could use.
We've seen how they've tried to make up
for not having them.
The new reporting from CNN
is that the U.S.
is signaling to allies
that it may allow the export of F-16s,
which would allow other countries
that have these
obviously made in the US
to be able to send them to Ukraine.
Which countries is it exactly that
that have the F-16s
that could have the capability
of potentially sending them?
So these are the countries in NATO,
besides the United States,
that actually fly the F-16.
Everyone from Turkey and Greece
all the way up through Romania, Poland,
and then of course,
the Scandinavian countries
of Norway, Denmark,
and then the Benelux,
Netherlands and Belgium.
So these countries are critical
for this
one country that has made that transition
very effectively from Soviet
era fighters to the F-16 is Poland.
Another one is Romania.
So these two countries would be
the most likely ones
to help with that transition,
because they're also interested
in getting newer generation fighters
that are even newer than the F-16.
And this would be one way to do
that, provided their F-16 arms to Ukraine
and then be able to use
for the Ukrainians,
be able to use them against
Russian targets.
Yeah, with these at sixes,
I've talked to people at the Pentagon
about the reluctance to say whether U.S.
will allow U.S.
allies to export theirs
or we ourselves will send them.
But it's also an argument
we heard about the tanks,
about other pieces of equipment
that they did eventually send to Ukraine.
What's your sense of what they'll
what they'll do here?
So what I think they're going to do,
Caitlin, is, you know,
looking at all the different platforms
and weapon systems
that we have provided to the Ukrainians,
you know, everything from anti-aircraft
missiles and Stinger varieties.
155 millimeter Howitzers,
the drones, the switchblade drones.
And of course, as you mentioned,
the tanks, the Patriot missiles,
all of those become important packages.
So my sense
is that what they're going to do
is they're going to let
the Ukrainians have the F-16.
You'd mentioned earlier
that one of the key
things is training pilots.
Two countries have indicated
that they would like to train
the Ukrainians on Western platforms.
Those would be the Netherlands
and the United Kingdom.
And that could very well
make the difference.
The training system
that we currently have in place
takes about nine months
for most people
to train into the F-16
and then be proficient in that aircraft.
The Ukrainians might be able to do it
within 69 days
if they just move from their platforms.
The SOVIET-ERA
MiG 29 and SU 27 into the F-16.
They won't be completely proficient
after that time frame.
But it is something that they could
potentially do
given the fact
that they have a lot of combat
experience already.
And all of
this is being discussed in Japan
right now. So we'll see what they decide.
A US made Patriot
air defense system
is reportedly fully back up
and running
after taking damage
during Russian missile strikes
in Ukraine.
Moscow claimed its hypersonic missiles
hit a Patriot battery
during an attack near Keefe on Tuesday.
But according to the Pentagon,
that didn't make much of a difference.
So for more specifics,
on the Patriot itself,
I would refer you to the Ukrainians.
What I can confirm
is that one Patriot system was damaged,
but it has now been fixed
and is fully fully back and operational.
Multiple U.S.
officials told CNN
the damage on the Patriot battery
similar to this one was only minor.
It's still unclear
if the damage was caused
by a missile strike
or from falling debris.