Ukrainian pilots to complete F-16s training by summer 2024 – The Washington Post
Not earlier than next summer, the first group of six Ukrainian pilots will complete training on F-16 fighters.
The Washington Post, with reference to sources in the government of Ukraine and the defense sector, reported this.
Sources said that six pilots, about half the squadron, will undergo the first round of training. Two more pilots have been identified as reserve candidates.
Although pilots are already fluent in English, they must first complete a four-month English course in the UK to learn aircraft terminology. The ground staff will also be trained because Denmark has asked to train the entire crew, not just the pilots, WP notes.
According to Ukrainian officials, this pushes the start of combat training, which is expected to last six months, to January, Ukrainian officials said. A second group of about the same number will be ready in six months or around the end of next year.
U.S. officials said another 20 Ukrainian pilots are ready for English-language training, adding that most of Ukraine's best pilots are expected to remain in Ukraine, where they will fly Soviet-designed planes that fire French SCALP and British Storm Shadow missiles.
Serhiy Holubtsov, Brigadier General of the Air Force of Ukraine's armed forces, told the newspaper that during the breaks between flights, Ukrainian pilots have been attending online English language courses for the entire last year.
"For flight and ground personnel, additional specialized training will be conducted on the terminology necessary for mastering the F-16. It was impossible to train pilots and other personnel in Ukraine on this terminology due to the lack of experience in working with it," he said.
According to the general, since the selected pilots already have a high level of basic English, learning additional terminology "will not take much time."
Denmark's defense ministry declined to comment on how long the program would last or to answer questions about possible delays. The Dutch government is working with Romania to set up a training center in Romania, but U.S. officials said that would take time.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov signed a memorandum on creating a coalition to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets at the NATO summit in Vilnius. 11 countries of the coalition also signed this memorandum to provide Ukraine with aircraft. It included: Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and Great Britain.
On June 23, Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder reported that Denmark had sent a request to the United States to support training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.
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It should be noted that the issue of providing Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets was discussed during the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (in Ramstein format) in June.
After it, it became known that by July, the partners of Ukraine plan to approve the training program for Ukrainian pilots, engineers, and technicians on F-16 fighter jets; the training itself will take place in a specially created center in one of the European countries.
Politico says Western F-16 fighter jets may be transferred to Ukraine in early 2024.
Earlier, the prime ministers of the Netherlands and Great Britain agreed to work on the formation of an international coalition of fighter jets for Ukraine. Denmark joined them.
At the beginning of June, Air Force spokesman Colonel Yuriy Ihnat announced that Kyiv had selected the first groups of Ukrainian pilots for training in Britain.
On July 6, the Supreme Council of National Defense of Romania (CSAT) discussed the project of creating a pilot training center in the country to operate F-16 fighter jets, which NATO members and allied countries can use.
