Pentagon Briefing 8/24/23 Transcript

All right, well, good afternoon everyone. Thanks very much for your patience. I do have a few things to read out at the top, and then we’ll get right to your questions.

(07:16)
So first, I’d like to provide a quick update on DOD’s efforts in support of FEMA in the state of Hawaii to support the ongoing federal and state response to the Maui wildfires. As of today, more than 725 DOD personnel and 136 Coast Guardsmen are currently engaged in this effort. US Army Pacific Command and Joint Task Force 5-0 continue to actively conduct eight approved mission assignments received from FEMA, and the full list of those mission assignments, as well as a breakdown of specific activities is available on the DOD website, so I would encourage you to take a look at that.

(07:50)
Separately, the Department of Defense is announcing today that the United States will soon begin training Ukrainians to fly and maintain F-16 fighter aircraft in support of the international effort to develop and strengthen Ukraine’s long-term defenses. Following English language training for pilots in September, F-16 flying training is expected to begin in October at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona, facilitated by the Air National Guards 162nd Wing. Although we do not have specific numbers to share at this time in regards to how many Ukrainians will participate in this training, we do anticipate it will include several pilots and dozens of maintainers.

(08:33)
Importantly, although some Ukrainian pilots have English language skills, we are anticipating that all of the pilots coming to the United States will require some level of additional English language instruction, given the complexities and the specialized English that’s required to fly these aircraft. Therefore, as mentioned, these pilots will also be conducting English language training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas in September prior to attending F-16 flying training in Arizona.

(09:04)
The training provided by the United States will compliment the F-16 pilot and maintenance training that’s already underway in Europe, and further deepens our support for the F-16 Training Coalition led by Denmark and the Netherlands. Moving forward, we will remain in close consultation with the Danes, the Dutch, and other allies to ensure US training complements the broader coalition training effort.

(09:27)
And in other Ukraine News, Secretary Austin released a statement today to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. The full statement is available on the DOD website, but states in part, quote, “The Ukrainian people have inspired the world with their courage and resolve to defend their right to live in a sovereign, democratic, and free country. For the past 18 months, Russia has waged a full-scale, unprovoked and indefensible war against Ukraine. The Kremlin’s war of choice has killed thousands of innocent Ukrainians, displaced millions more and deliberately inflicted terror and trauma on Ukraine’s men, women, and children,” end quote. Secretary Austin goes on to underscore that, quote, “Today, as Ukraine commemorates another year of independence, the United States remains steadfast in our commitment to ensure that it can celebrate many more. We will support Ukraine for as long as it takes in its fight for security and freedom,” end quote.

(10:25)
Finally, Secretary Austin welcomed Indonesian Minister of Defense Prabowo to the Pentagon earlier today to discuss shared vision, stronger partnership and shared values between our two nations. Together, they resolved to preserve international laws and norms, enhance our mutual security and defense capabilities, and remain guided by our shared values, shared democratic principles. They shared their determination to further strengthen our relationship, ensuring that it is robust and capable of seizing future opportunities and tackling emerging challenges in an increasingly-complex geopolitical climate.

… a joint statement will be made available later today on defense.gov.

(11:04)
And with that, I’ll be happy to take your questions. Let’s start right up here with Liz.

Great. Thank you. On the plane that was carrying Prighozin that went down in Russia, was it a bomb that took the plane down?

So a couple things. I know there’s a lot of interest in this topic. I’ll say right up front, first of all, our initial assessment is that it’s likely Prighozin was killed. We’re continuing to assess the situation. We don’t have any information to indicate right now the press reporting stating that there was some type of surface-to-air missile that took down the plane. We assess that information to be inaccurate. Again, nothing to indicate, no information to suggest that there was a surface-to-air missile. But beyond that, I’m really just not going to have any further information.

But was it something that came internal from inside the plane?

Again, I don’t have any additional insight to provide on that. Thank you.

(12:01)
Oren?

I just want to check the first thing you said. “Our initial assessment is that it’s likely Prighozin was killed.” You mean killed intentionally, although this may well have been an assassination?

Killed in this airplane …

Oh, that he-

… crash.

… was on board? And what leads you to believe that? What information do you have that suggests that was on board? Or is this based on the fact that you have no reason to doubt Russian reports?

Yeah, I’m not going to go into the specifics of how we gather information other than, again, our initial assessment based on a variety of factors is that he was likely killed.

But not just based on Russian statements, I would imagine?

Based on a variety of factors. Thank you.

(12:36)
Missy?

Just have two clarifications, and then I have a question. Just to make sure that I understood the answer to Oren’s follow-up. So you guys are not willing to say that you believe it was an assassination attempt? You’re just being neutral on that right now?

Look, we’re continuing to assess the situation. I’m not going to have any further information on how or why the airplane crashed.

Okay. And then on the F-16 training, the administration had said previously that it would consider hosting training for Ukrainian pilots in the U.S. if capacity in Europe proved to be insufficient. But I think they’re just getting going. Is that what happened? Did you guys conclude that their capacity was insufficient, or was there a decision just to go ahead with it, even though their training is really just getting off the ground?

(13:26)
And then my question, just to put it out there right now, is regarding these reports that the Saudi border forces may have attacked and killed a number of asylum seekers trying to cross from Yemen into Saudi Arabia. I know that at least troops under Central Command authority are not currently providing training and assistance or any kind of support to these particular units or Saudi border guard.

(13:53)
But I’m just wondering if you, from the podium, could provide some sort of comment, given that the Saudi government was such an important security partner, and that the United States has this deep relationship with Saudi security forces across the board? What is your comment on how worried or concerned are you all about this? And is there any action that the U.S. government will take given the sort of egregious nature of these alleged actions by the Saudi border forces? Thanks.

Yeah. Thanks, Missy. So a lot of questions there.

Sorry.

Everybody settle in. All right. So on your first question, in terms of us providing this training.

Yes.

So really, as we looked at our European allies providing this training, recognizing the fact that we want to do everything we can to help move this effort along as quickly as possible in support of Ukraine.

(14:50)
We know that as the Danes and the Dutch prepare to train those pilots, that at a certain point in time in the future, capacity will be reached. So pre-emptively acknowledging that and leaning forward in order to assist with this effort is the impetus for why we’re doing this now.

(15:13)
As it relates to Saudi Arabia, again, we’re aware of the report, we’re aware of the allegations. As you highlighted the U.S. is not in any way training those border forces. They’re not a part of any of the assistance that we provide. I don’t have a specific comment to say other than, again, we are aware of those allegations. I know that the State Department is looking into that, but I don’t have anything further to provide at this point. Thank you.

(15:41)
Ashley.

I would like to follow up on the F-16 training. So as you’re looking at the capacity issue, is there a certain number that you’re working off of how many aircrafts that Ukraine will-

So the short answer is I don’t have a number for you today. I know that some of our European allies have already publicly commented on the aircraft that they’re going to be providing. Step number one is Ukraine identifying the pilots to be trained, and then having those pilots come and train. And then at that point, we’ll be talking about how many aircraft. So more to follow on that in the future.

(16:20)
But in terms of training in the United States, right now, what we’re looking at is, we’ll have more to provide in the future in terms of numbers. But right now, we’re looking at several pilots with upwards of dozens of maintainers.

And sorry if I missed it, missed it at the topper, are there going to be training at Luke Air Force Base? And when do you anticipate that the language training would be concluded and the training in Arizona could start?

Yes. So right now, it’ll be at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona. The language training will start in September. And then we anticipate that flying training will begin in October. Okay. Thank you. Go to Fadi.

Thank you, General. So I want to go back to Prighozin. Can you just update us on what role the Wagner Group have been playing in Ukraine since last June? And I know this just happened yesterday. Do you think there’s going to be implication on the group’s future role, especially in Africa, after Prighozin and maybe the second man in its hierarchy as you said …

Yes.

Got killed.

So a few things. As it relates to Ukraine, their role as a combat force has largely, for all intents and purposes, is no longer a factor on the battlefield in Ukraine. After Wagner Group’s actions two months ago, in Russia, as you know, those forces were essentially removed from combat near Bakhmut where they had been fighting.

(18:07)
Oh, by the way, and we’ve said this before, the Wagner forces essentially were Russia’s most effective combat forces on the battlefield. Those forces essentially were removed from the battlefield. Some of them were relocated to Belarus to provide training for Belarus forces. But for all intents and purposes, their combat effectiveness has been diminished. And they are no longer a significant factor when it comes to the conflict inside Ukraine.

(18:42)
As it relates to Africa, we’ll see. Clearly, we know that the Wagner Group has for a while been conducting operations, has many tentacles, some military in nature, some criminal in nature in Africa in places like Burkina Faso and Mali. And so, I don’t think anybody’s going to discount the potential for danger when it comes to that group or the remnants of that group. So we’ll continue to keep a close eye on it. Thank you.

(19:11)
Janne. And then we’ll go to Matt.

Thank you, General. I have two questions on North Korea. North Korea admitted failure two hours after launching the second reconnaissance satellite. And North Korea also announced that it would launch a third reconnaissance satellite in October. What is the Pentagon’s reaction to this?

Just to clarify. So, are you asking about the time it took for them to acknowledge failure?

Yeah.

And what’s our reaction to that?

Yes.

Their communication skills are improving. No. No. I mean, all joking aside. Again, what we see here is another failed space launch. You’ve heard INDOPACOM, you’ve heard the White House, you’ve heard the U.S. government condemn these actions. And they’re provocative. They’re destabilizing. So again, we’ll continue to consult closely with our Republic of Korea allies and our Japanese allies to ensure that we share a common understanding of the situation and that we work together to ensure stability and security in the region.

Regarding the surprise launch, other than the North Korea announced they did United States, South Korea and Japan’s missile information, I mean, satellite information system is work these days, I mean this time?

Yes. I wouldn’t conflate North Korea’s public statements with our ability to conduct and assess intelligence, broadly speaking in the region. I’m not going to get into the specifics or discuss intelligence. But, again, I think the INDOPACOM and the White House statement speak for themselves. So let me move on to Matt here.

Thank you, Pat. Had the U.S. been tracking Prighozin’s movements lately? And can you confirm whether or not he was in Africa earlier this week?

Thanks, Matt. I’m just not going to get into intelligence.

Okay. Secondly, while you can’t confirm intentionality that this was a deliberate assassination, can you say whether or not the U.S. had assessed that such an untimely demise was likely to be in the cards for Mr. Prighozin?

Yeah. I mean, it’s a great question. And I’m going to resist the temptation to provide my personal opinion on it. Again, though, I’m just not going to be able to go into intelligence. Thank you.

(21:42)
Let me take a call from the phone here and we’ll come back in the room. Howard Altman, War Zone.

Hey. Thanks, Pat. I want to drill down little bit on the F-16 pilot training. The days of providing training to more seasoned pilots in U.K. is more like lieutenants who haven’t flown much. Can you say what level of experience the

… the pilots who are going to be coming to the US will have, what’s your anticipation of that?

Yeah. Thanks, Howard. So part of this training will be assessing the individual pilot’s skill level, which will help to determine how long that training will last. Your basic new F-16 pilot with not a lot of training on the US side, that training typically lasts about eight months. For a pilot that’s experienced, that you’re doing upgrade training, for example, that can range within the five-month range. So a lot is going to depend on those individual pilots and the assessment in terms of where they’re at in that process.

(22:49)
I will highlight that… Some of you have asked why does it take so long to train an F-16 pilot and what takes so much time when it comes to providing this capability? You know, just broadly speaking, your average F-16 pilot that goes from basic flying training or undergraduate pilot training into fighter training, there’s a series of essentially courses that you’re going to have to go through. You’re going to have to go through introduction to fighter fundamentals where they’re going to teach you formation flying, basic fighter maneuvers, weapons employment, and this is going to help you transition from being a basic pilot mindset to a fighter pilot mindset.

(23:34)
There’s going to be some type of ground training involved. You’ve all seen the images of people going through a centrifuge training to learn how to cope with G-forces. There will be additional training on air combat maneuvering, tactical intercepts, close air support, suppression of enemy air defenses, and then all of that leading up to your mission qualification training, which then allows your instructor to certify that you’re combat ready. So those are the kinds of things that go into training a fighter pilot.

(24:05)
Oh, by the way, this is a high performance aircraft with a significant logistics and maintenance tail so training all of those maintainers on how to maintain this aircraft so that it can stay in the air. Training the ground support, air traffic controllers, the fuelers, the communications associated with that, all of that is entailed in maintaining this platform, so hopefully that gives you some insight. Okay. Back in the room, we’ll go to Gordon.

A few things about F-16s. I know you don’t want to talk about the number of pilots, but do you think that this announcement will expand the number of pilots that can be trained, one? Two, I think that the original estimates for getting F-16s to the Ukrainians on the ground or whatever, was roughly mid ’24 to the end of ’24. Do you see that maybe brought to the left a little bit? And what about air-to-air munitions? Would the US provide AM rounds or something like that as part of this deal?

Yeah, so a couple of things. In terms of the number of pilots, Ukraine will determine the number of pilots that they require to go through the training and, again, what this will do is essentially increase the capacity across the coalition for training those pilots, right, so it’s another venue by which to train. So, again, as more information becomes available as the program matures, if there are more pilots, certainly we’ll let you know.

(25:42)
As it relates to the timeline for F-16 deliveries, we’re talking a matter of… I’m not going to get into specifically. I don’t want to speculate on when F-16 aircraft will be delivered, other than you’ve heard us say that when training is complete, the Europeans are looking to provide F-16 aircraft and the United States will support that effort through the third party transfer process. So we’re talking months, not weeks, obviously, and as we said from the very beginning in May, this is about the long-term support to Ukraine. This is not about the counter offensive that they’re conducting right now.

Are you leaving the door open to a possible acceleration of when the jets could get there?

You know, obviously we’re going to work as fast as we can, but what you don’t want to do is you don’t want to rush a pilot and train them in a high performance combat aircraft and then put them in harm’s way not fully prepared. So a lot of this will depend on the pilots, where they’re at in experience, the training, and making sure that, again, that we’re providing the right pilots with the right aircraft at the right time to be able to be effective at the end of the day in combat. Let me go to Brandi.

Thank you, sir. Following on Matt’s line of questioning, we know you won’t get into the specifics around intel, but maybe broadly could you speak to what extent has DOD been devoting its ISR assets to tracking the Wagner group globally? And with this assessment that Prigozhin and his crew are dead, how will that make it harder for OSD to keep tabs on that crew?

Yeah. Thanks, Brandi. So no, I won’t get into the specifics in terms of what percentage or level of assets that we commit on our intelligence operations. Again, broadly speaking, we have a variety of methods by which we can assess national security issues and potential threats to include groups like the Wagner Group and we’ll continue to do that going forward. Again, right now, for understandable reasons, the media is focused very much on this person known as Mr. Prigozhin, but the real threat here is the group which is an international criminal organization and has conducted horrific acts, both on the battlefield and elsewhere. And so, again, like many threats, we will continue to monitor that one as well.

Do you see potentially expanding how you are tracking with ISR post-Prigozhin’s death?

I’m not sure I follow what you mean.

The implications on actually how you’re tracking with ISR, is it going to be harder now that he and his crew are not there? Are you going to be devoting more capabilities to tracking that group?

Yeah, again, I won’t get into the specifics of how and where we conduct any type of intelligence operations. Thank you very much. Let me go to Rao and then I’ll come back to you.

Thank you very much, General. On the South China Sea, the Philippines carried out the resupply operations to their outpost in the Second Thomas Shoal area this week, which was successful. Did the US military provide any assistance to the Philippines for their operations this time?

Yeah. Thanks, Rao. So I don’t have anything to read out in terms of US military assistance. I think the Philippines can talk about their operations. Certainly you’ve heard us publicly express our support for the Philippines and their right to sovereignty and their right to be able to operate within their own waters. Broadly speaking, again, we will continue to work closely with the Philippines to support them as they request, and I’ll just leave it at that.

[inaudible 00:29:46] are reporting that the US, Japan, and Australia will do joint exercises in the South China Sea later this week, so is this a response to the China’s continued unsafe maneuvers towards Philippine ships around the Second Thomas Shoal?

Is the exercise in response?

Yeah.

I mean our exercises are long planned, coordinated well in advance, and again, they’re designed to ensure that our countries can work together, that we can be interoperable, we can learn from one another, we can improve and bolster the security cooperation relationships that we have, and again, I mean this is one of many exercises that we do with partners and allies throughout the region. Thank you very much. [inaudible 00:30:39], yep.

One clarification based on what you said, does the DOD consider the Second Thomas Shoal as part of sovereign territory of the Philippines?

I think the Philippines have been clear in terms of what their view is on that ship and the Second Thomas Shoal.

So you support them regardless just…

We support the Philippines protecting their sovereign waters. Yes, ma’am.

Thank you, sir. Kimberly Underwood from [inaudible 00:31:04] SIGNAL Magazine. I wanted to ask more about the F-16 fighter training in the US. Can you go into why Morris and the Air National Guards 162nd Wing was chosen, I think for the flight training, and you mentioned the language training would be at Lackland. Obviously San Antonio does tons of training for the Air Force, but can you go into the reasoning behind that choice?

Yeah, sure. The 162nd Wing is the International Guard’s premier F-16 training wing and they have deep experience in terms of training international pilots. They, for example, have trained upwards, I think, of 25 different nations before so they have experience in this type of effort. Thank you. Yes, sir.

Thank you, General. General, regarding to the F-16, so my question is, does Ukraine has the special infrastructures to have these kinds of jets in their country or it’s going to be used the same infrastructures for the jets that already they are using in their [inaudible 00:32:09].

Yeah. No, that’s a great question, so the short answer is no, right? I mean they don’t currently operate the F-16. They don’t have the training to maintain and sustain the F-16 and so that’s part of the process here, right? The training of the pilots is one piece of it, the maintainers. The other piece of it is, you know, at the appropriate time ensuring that they have the ground equipment, that they have the ability to control and sustain these aircraft from Ukrainian airfields, all of which will be down the road. Thank you very much. Yeah. Do you have a follow on?

Yeah. Second question about the Wagner Group, so how concerned that Wagner Group, today they are without a leader, and is going to be more dangerous from this group if they’re going to be under the Kremlin leadership?

Look, I’d refer you to the Wagner Group, if you’re able to get in touch with them, for any questions on what their current business model and path forward is. We’ve seen the Russian government, shortly after the events near Moscow two months ago, say to some of these members that, sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense. We’re aware that some members of Wagner left Wagner and others stayed. But as it relates to the future of this company, this mercenary company, I really don’t have anything to provide. Thank you very much, sir. And then we’ll come back to you guys.

Sure. Could you let us know when it became clear that capacity was going to be reached in terms of training in Europe, just when that decision became clear?

Yeah. Again, we’ve been working and consulting very closely with the Danes and the Dutch all along. And as we assess the program, this is a preemptive move to say, “You know what? Let’s go ahead and lean forward. We don’t even want it to become an issue in terms of capacity. We don’t want to wait until you reach capacity and then say, ‘Okay, let’s do this.'” So again, proactively making this facility available to train Ukrainian pilots. Thank you. Let me go to Carla and then Orrin.

Thanks. Two questions. So first, going back to what you said on the Wagner Group forces no longer being a significant factor in Ukraine, that coupled with the raid in Crimea that Ukraine announced, their naval raid yesterday, or overnight, the SS-400 hit that they had. How would the Pentagon describe Ukraine’s progress at this moment in time? Is it slow progress? Is it still stalled?

Yeah, thanks. Thanks, Carla. So, talked about this a little bit earlier this week. I’m going to refrain from providing an operational update. I will say that broadly speaking, Ukraine continues to get after it and fight. They are making some progress along the front line. But it’s going to be tough, it will continue to be tough for all the reasons we’ve talked about, not the least of which is significant obstacles to include minefields. And so our focus is going to be on consulting with them and ensuring they have what they need to be successful on the battlefield.

And then to follow on Niger, just an update to that. Is there any change to US military posture at this point in Niger? At what point does this coup become a coup in the eyes of the Pentagon?

Yeah, thanks. I don’t have any updates to provide on Niger. Again, as we’ve said before, the focus continues to be on finding a diplomatic solution to the situation there. If we have significant updates to provide and are able to provide those, we’ll certainly let you know. So nothing beyond that at this point.

Two quick F-16 questions. Will the Ukrainian pilots get the full training the US would get on everything a US F-16 pilot would need to do, or will that be stripped down? Meaning, do they need things like aerial refueling or will that simply be taken out of the training to expedite it? And then is there an overall goal for the US, the Dutch, the Danes and everybody else? Are you trying to create one F-16 squadron, two, three? Is that determined yet?

So Orrin, on the particular curriculum for the pilots, again, I think part of that will be determined by their experience levels, and we’ll know more in the days ahead. As it relates to how Ukraine organizes this force, obviously that’s going to be a Ukrainian decision, I’m confident in consultation with us on how best to employ that capability. So that’s really a question that we’ll be able to better address down the road.

Then at some point, will we be able to see this training at Morris Air National Guard Base?

I’m surprised it took that long for you to ask this. I will take that request and we’ll see what we can do. All right. Yes, ma’am.

[inaudible 00:37:14]. For the F-16 training, is it just the basics of fighter pilot training for the aircraft or are you also going to include anything for Russian-specific aerial tactics for the pilots?

Yes, it is a good question. What I would tell you right now for the training in the US will be the fundamental fighter pilot training. You raise a good point, that step one in becoming a fighter pilot is going through fighter pilot training, but that combat experience and combat training is also important. So again, more to follow. The coalition will continue to look at how best to prepare these pilots so that they can be successful in the air when those aircraft are employed in Ukraine.

And for the maintainer training, is any of it going to involve how to do 3D printing for parts? I’m assuming that supply chain might be restricted.

Yeah, so I don’t have that level of granularity yet. So as more details become available and importantly, as they’re releasable, we’ll be sure to keep you updated on that front. Take a couple more here. Yes, sir.

Hey, sir. You mentioned the persistent threat by Wagner as a transnational criminal organization. Does the department assess that there’s a heightened threat posed by Wagner personnel in the wake of Prigozhin’s death? Are US forces in Syria in any way in a state of heightened alert?

I haven’t seen anything to indicate that at this point. Thank you. And last question. Yes, ma’am.

I wanted to follow up on providing F-16s to Ukraine. And when that determination is made, is that going to be a blanket re-export authorization, or is that going to be a country by country basis?

As we’ve highlighted, the Danes and the Dutch are leading this F-16 training coalition. And so they’ve already publicly come out and said that they will provide F-16 aircraft to Ukraine. And so the way that process will work is they will submit the third party transfer request to the United States. And you’ve already heard Secretary Blinken say that we will expedite those requests in consultation with Congress. So as they identify specific aircraft to go to Ukraine. And a key piece of this is our allies have said, when the training is complete, so the idea would be to marry up the trained pilots with the aircraft. That’s when you would look at seeing those aircraft go forward. So again, when we get to that point, I’m sure we’ll have more updates to provide. Thank you.

Do you have time for one extra question?

Only for you [inaudible 00:39:53].

Yes. Thank you. Is the US offering this training with the idea that the F-16 will enter this current war in Ukraine?

What do you mean by that?

Do you envision, whether through what the Danish and the Dutch are providing and the training here that the F-16s and the pilots will be ready to enter this war in Ukraine?

Well, I know we’re going to do everything we can to ensure that those pilots have the training and the knowledge necessary to be able to effectively employ this very sophisticated combat weapon. And so that’s our part. And we’ll work with our allies in Europe to ensure they have that training so that when they do go into combat, they’re prepared to do it. Thank you. Thanks very much, everybody. Appreciate it.