Pentagon plans to begin training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in September
25 August, 2023 F-16 fighter of the U.S. Air Force. Photo credits: French Presse - Getty Images
The U.S. Department of Defense plans to begin training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in the United States. U.S.
Defense Department officials shared the information with The New York Times. The pilots will first take an English language course in Texas, and then they will start months of training in Arizona. The Defense Department officials said last week that Ukrainian pilots would be trained in the United States in case if a European coalition effort to instruct dozens of pilots, led by the Netherlands and Denmark, reached capacity.
It is yet unknown whether the United States will train the Ukrainians who were supposed to participate in European training programs or whether it will be an additional group.
Training center for F-16 fighter jet pilots by Elbit Systems
According to the source, the pilots will first take a course in the English language in Texas, after which they will start months of training in Arizona. A small number of Ukrainian pilots had received training in the United States before President Biden's decision in May to allow European countries with the U.S.-made F-16s to train Ukrainian aviators. For example, in the winter of 2022, the U.S.
Air Force hosted two Ukrainian pilots who had flown Soviet-era jets to see how they would handle the F-16s. In an assessment dated March 22, the Americans concluded that at least some Ukrainian pilots could be trained to fly the F-16 in four to five months. As previously reported, Denmark has begun training eight Ukrainian pilots in operation of the F-16 fighter jets of the Royal Danish Air Force.
Volodymyr Zelensky and Mette Frederiksen against the background of the Danish F-16 fighter.
August 2023. Denmark. Photo credits: Office of the President of Ukraine
The training takes place at the air base in Skrydstrup, where the Danish Air Force's fighter wing, consisting of the 727th and 730th Squadrons, is stationed.
Moreover, 65 personnel will be trained in maintaining and servicing the jets.
Denmark will supply Ukraine with 19 F-16 fighter jets.
It is not yet known which versions of the aircraft will be transferred.