US Air Force: first Ukrainian pilots of F-16 fighter jets will be trained by the end of the year
The US may complete the training of the first Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets by the end of the year, although it will take more time before they start flying combat missions, said Lieutenant General Michael Lo, head of the Air Force of the US National Guard.
“Right now, pilots are being evaluated for English language proficiency, and depending on their proficiency and previous fighter jet experience, they could be trained in the U.S. within three months,” the Associated Press reported Lo as saying at the annual convention of the U.S. Air Force Association in Maryland.
Ukrainian pilots will then return to Europe to undergo additional NATO aircraft maintenance training, and Lo did not specify the length of the additional training.
To meet the tight deadline with the Ukrainian pilots, the US Air Force will likely reschedule some of its other international pilot training commitments, the general added, also noting that the Ukrainian military will begin training “as soon as they are given the go-ahead.”
Earlier, Denmark and the Netherlands were the first to agree to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets. The White House confirmed that Ukraine will receive the combat aircraft from third countries after the training of its pilots is completed. The Pentagon also noted that Ukraine did not yet have the necessary infrastructure to host the F-16s.
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