Free Republic

During his presidency, Barack Obama infamously asserted the power to assassinate American citizens. This isn’t a widely known fact because, well, the media didn’t exactly cover this story as they would have with a white president of either party. Barack Obama was “the first black president,” after all. It wasn’t enough for Obama to hold that historic distinction; he had to have a legacy of success, unmarred by scandal or controversy. It was, at times, difficult to avoid covering various controversies and scandals, but the media did its best to create the false impression that Obama was scandal-free—a fiction many...

President Joe Biden again mocked gun owners over the weekend, suggesting they will need F-16 fighter jets if they are really serious about taking on the government. Townhall reported Biden speaking to reporters, referencing Thomas Jefferson’s famous quote, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Biden said, “And I love people who say, the ‘blood of liberty,’ or excuse me, ‘the tree of liberty is watered with the blood of patriots.’ Well, guess what, man, I didn’t see a whole lot of patriots that are out there walking around...

Ukraine will reportedly need to wait up to an additional half year before receiving the F-16 fighter jets promised to the war-torn country from the Kingdom of Denmark, according to the Danish defence ministry. President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has long lobbied Western powers for American-made F-16 warplanes, will apparently need to wait longer until the first jets are handed over, with the Danish Ministry of Defense announcing on Saturday that the first delivery F-16 jets will be delayed by at least six months.

In a defiant New Year’s address, President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed that Russia would feel the “wrath” of Ukrainian weapons production, including a million new attack drones, and the expected arrival of F-16 fighter jets from the West in the coming year. Speaking from Kyiv on Sunday evening, Zelensky proclaimed that “Ukraine is alive. Ukraine lives. Ukraine fights” while thanking the efforts of the hundreds of thousands of men fighting on the frontlines and the civilian population for their contributions to the war effort and “holding back the evil that has become even greater.”

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – The Dutch government announced Friday it is preparing to give 18 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, in a boost for the embattled nation that is growing increasingly anxious about aid from its Western allies. The Dutch defense minister, Kajsa Ollongren, sent a letter to parliament outlining the plan to donate the sophisticated jets that was first unveiled in the summer. Friday´s decision is a significant step toward sending the planes into the skies over Ukraine, but did not say when they will be delivered.

Maria Zakharova - spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry - warned the West that the advanced F-16 fighters delivered to Ukraine will be a fair target for Russia if they are based in NATO countries. She said that the fourth-generation fighter jets could be based in Poland, Slovakia and Romania, meaning NATO is 'getting deeper' into the Ukrainian conflict. 'There have been many questions asked about the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine,' said Zakharova, 47. She continued: 'I would like to say that NATO member states continue, as you understand, to intensively arm Ukraine and the supply of...

More U.S. Air Force F-16s arrived in the Middle East, the service announced Oct. 24, as threats to American forces in the region continue to grow. The New Jersey Air National Guard’s 119th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron’s arrival in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) region increases the Air Force’s fighter footprint in the Middle East to six squadrons. U.S. bases in the Middle East have begun to come under attack from militia groups aligned with Iran, and officials have voiced concerned about possible region-wide escalation of the Israel-Hamas war. “What has happened in the last several days is efforts by Iran...

OUTSIDE KYIV, UKRAINE — Ukrainian pilots are honing their skills in virtual F-16 fighter jet cockpits as they anxiously await approval to travel abroad for training. A Ukrainian pilot gave a demonstration to a reporter from The Hill in an exclusive visit to a secret facility this month, where the cockpit simulation was displayed on large computer monitors for a small audience. Andrii, a Su-27 fighter pilot who goes by the call sign ‘Sabre,’ sat in a mock jet seat with a joystick, pedals under his feet, and a throttle to the left. The action takes place in a virtual...

TURKEY will let Sweden into NATO once they are allowed to buy F-16 fighter jets from the US. Referring to the F-16 plan and Sweden’s application to join the Alliance, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is reported as stating this Tuesday, September 26: ‘If they fulfil their promises, our parliament will also fulfil its own and take its steps accordingly’ Pointing out that the Turkish parliament has the final say on Sweden’s NATO membership, Erdogan stressed: ‘When the issue comes to the agenda of parliament, we will see together what the decision will be’, according to aa.com.tr. Speaking on the Presidential...

The Pentagon announced Thursday it is ready to train Ukrainian aircrew to fly F-16 fighter jets at a National Guard base in Arizona as soon as this October. The U.S. last week cleared other nations to donate the American made jets to Ukraine – despite initial fears the move may antagonize Moscow. Several countries including the Netherlands and Denmark quickly responded and the Pentagon has indicated it will train the aircrew to enable the Ukraine to take the sophisticated warplanes into combat with Russia. NATO-member Norway has also indicated it is ready to join the program. Secretary of State Antony...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy has claimed that the Netherlands will send all 42 of its F-16 fighter jets after he met with outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Sunday. In his second visit to the Netherlands since the Russian invasion last year, Mr Zelensky toured a military airbase in Eindhoven on Sunday morning, where globalist lame-duck Prime Minister Mark Rutte showed off his fleet of F-16 fighter jets, which have been cleared by the Biden administration to be sent into battle in Ukraine, with Washington having final say over where they are deployed given that they are made in the...

The United States has approved sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands to defend against Russian invaders as soon as pilot training is completed, a U.S. official said on Thursday. Ukraine has actively sought the U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to help it counter Russian air superiority. Washington gave Denmark and the Netherlands official assurances that the United States will expedite approval of transfer requests for F-16s to go to Ukraine when the pilots are trained, the official said. (snip) A coalition of 11 countries will start training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 fighter jets later...

In mid-June, the Israel Defense Forces completed a major two-week war exercise, dubbed “Firm Hand,” which simulated a multi-arena war starting with Hezbollah and Lebanon and spreading to other locations, including Iran. The Israeli Air Force played a key role in the exercise, reflecting its centrality as Israel’s strategic arm. In May, the IAF sent, for the first time, F-16 fighter aircraft to Cyprus as part of the “Blue Sun” exercise, which simulated war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. The drill also saw Israeli intelligence-gathering jets, C-130 transport helicopters, Apache gunships, and special forces on the ground.

Alleged president Joe Biden is on his “ban assault rifles'' kick again because the government apparently needs to keep firearms out of the hands of law-abiding citizens and in the hands of meth-addled whoremonger scumbags like his son. One constant component of this stumped stump speech is a line of nonsense that essentially boils down to us not needing real guns to fight government tyranny because the government – his government – will unleash the F-16s on you uppity peasants if you fail to obey your elite masters. I’m not persuaded by the argument that says, “You are crazy for...

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday the “time is now” for Turkey to drop its objections to Sweden joining NATO but said the Biden administration also believed that Turkey should be provided with upgraded F-16 fighters “as soon as possible.” Blinken maintained that the administration had not linked the two issues but acknowledged that some U.S. lawmakers had. President Joe Biden implicitly linked the two issues in a phone call to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday. “I spoke to Erdogan and he still wants to work on something on the F-16s. I told him we wanted...

Two Ukrainian pilots proved they can master the American-made F-16 fighter jets in just four months — more than four times faster than the Pentagon previously predicted — in a performance that is likely to ratchet up the growing pressure on the Biden Administration to send the lightweight warplanes to Ukraine. Yahoo News on Thursday obtained and published an internal US Air Force assessment that detailed the F-16 training two Ukrainian pilots underwent at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona, in late February and early March. Over the course of eleven and a half total hours in nine...

The Biden administration has signaled to European allies in recent weeks that the US would allow them to export F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, sources familiar with the discussions said, as the White House comes under increasing pressure from members of Congress and allies to help Ukraine procure the planes amid intensifying Russian aerial attacks. Administration officials are not aware, however, of any formal requests by any allies to export F-16s, and State Department officials who would normally be tasked with the paperwork to approve such third-party transfers have not been told to get to work, officials said. A handful...

Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said he “raised the issue” of F-16 fighter jets during a recent call with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — another sign that Kyiv is amping up the pressure to secure modern warplanes from the U.S. and Western allies. In an address to his people, Zelensky said he briefed the U.S. lawmaker on “what is happening now at the front, on our defense needs and capabilities” in Ukraine, which he said includes both F-16s and long-range artillery. “Together, we make the free world stronger, and every dollar invested in that strength is fully transparent...

To lay the groundwork for the U.S. Air Force’s Combat Collaborative Aircraft (CCA) program, which will explore tactical human-machine teaming concepts, the service will be giving select F-16 Viper fighter jets the ability to fly themselves. Dubbed Project Viper Experimentation and Next-Gen Operations Mode (VENOM), the initiative will outfit six F-16s from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida with autonomy agents that a human pilot will experiment with in flight. The hope is that the project will allow the Air Force to assess how it can best bridge autonomous and crewed formations while building trust in the autonomy. This is...

The US military is training two Ukrainian pilots on American soil to gauge how much time they would need in order to learn how to fly fighter jets such as the F-16. The pair are being taught using flight simulators at a base in Tucson, Arizona, a senior US official told NBC News. The official said that neither pilot will fly actual aircraft during their time in the US. As many as ten more pilots will arrive this month for similar training referred to as a 'familiarization event.'