Distinguished former US F-16 pilot says he’ll fly fighter jets for Ukraine: “You can count on me,” he said in a VoA interview.

• A distinguished former US Air Force pilot said he would fly fighter jets for Ukraine if necessary.

• Retired Lt. Col. Dan “Two Dogs” Hampton spoke about the potential of the US F-16 in the war for Ukraine.

• “I even go there myself, you can rely on me,” said the a. D. Lieutenant Colonel in 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 is willing to fly planes for the Ukrainian military himself if necessary.

The decorated pilot, known as “Two Dogs,” spent 20 years in the Air Force, fought in the Persian Gulf, Kosovo and Iraq wars, and is a New York Times bestselling author for his memoirs from his military days.

From a base in Arizona, Hampton spoke in the lengthy interview about training F-16 pilots for the war in Ukraine, the benefits of using the jets, and whether the Ukrainian government should hire private pilots as the war rages on into his second year.

The F-16, a single-seat US fighter jet, has been 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, which “could prove to be game-changers on the battlefield,” according to Politico.

Earlier this week, Poland became the first NATO country to confirm that it will deploy MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine.

“Nobody 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 airspace,” he told VoA The US Government Aids in financing.

Hampton told the interviewer the Ukrainian government can hire private contractors who already know how to fly F-16s, which “buys time” and “helps them win the war.”

“I’ll even go there myself. You can count on me,” Hampton said.

The retired Lt. Col. Hampton, 58, flew 151 sorties in a distinguished career from 1986 to 2006. He is the most decorated aviator since the Vietnam War, according to VoA, winning the Purple Heart, four Distinguished Flying Crosses for exceptional heroism and eight US Air Force Air Medals for bravery in air combat.

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The retired lieutenant colonel reiterated his commitment to the Ukrainian cause after stating it’s quicker to send pilots who know how to fly than “sending Ukrainian pilots to the US and sending them to a training program.”

Russia’s Su-35 fighter plane is “garbage,” says the former pilot

According to NBC News, two Ukrainian pilots were recently sent to Arizona so US authorities could determine how long it would take to train them to fly the jets and hone 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.

Hampton also compared F-16 aircraft — a multirole fighter capable of air-to-surface and air-to-air strikes — to Russia’s Su-35 jets, saying the Russian model used in the war ” looks good at air shows”. but that in his opinion they are “garbage”.

Meanwhile, a US Air Force official said earlier this week that fighter jets over Ukraine are “worthless” because both sides of the conflict have mastered long-range missile defenses, Insider previously reported.

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