The United States will begin flight training for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets in October, the Pentagon has announced.
The training would begin after the pilots receive English-language training next month, a Pentagon spokesman Brig Gen Pat Ryder said on Thursday. The flight training would take place at the Morris air national guard base in Tucson, Arizona, he added.
Several pilots and dozens of aircraft maintenance crew would take the training, Ryder added.
Last Sunday, Denmark and the Netherlands pledged to donate F-16s to Ukraine, fulfilling a longstanding wish by Ukraine that it says will help strengthen air defences and aid its counteroffensive against Russia’s 2022 invasion. Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, on Thursday said his country would also give Ukraine F-16s.
Denmark has begun training eight Ukrainian pilots in flying F-16s. They have arrived at the Danish military air base in Skrydstrup along with 65 personnel who will be trained in maintaining and servicing the jets.
Last week, Ukraine said it would not be able to operate US-built F-16 fighter jets this coming autumn and winter.
US military officials stress it takes years of training to be able to field F-16 squadrons, limiting the impact the aircraft will have on Ukraine’s defence for the near future.
“This is about the long-term support to Ukraine,” Ryder said. “This is not about the counteroffensive that they’re conducting right now.”
Ukraine has repeatedly called on its western allies to supply the country with F-16s, which the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said would be a signal that Russia’s invasion would end in defeat.
The US president, Joe Biden, endorsed training programs for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in May.
The west says it wants to help Ukraine defeat Russia but has repeatedly insisted it does not want to trigger a direct confrontation between the US-backed Nato military alliance and Moscow.
For experienced pilots, F-16 training could take around five months, Ryder said. Courses covering basics could include formation flying, operating weapons, air combat and suppressing air defence systems, in addition to flying the craft.
With Associated Press