Ukrainian pilots have graduated from U.S. F-16 training

24 May, 2024 F-16AM fighter jet from the 1st Squadron of the Air Component of the Belgian Armed Forces. Photo from the open sources The first batch of Ukrainian pilots have graduated from U.S.

F-16 training. The publication Air and Space Forces reported on this. Ukrainian pilots have graduated from their F-16 training course at the Air National Guard's 162nd Wing in Tucson, Ariz.

Arizona National Guard spokesperson Capt. Erin Hannigan declined to say how many pilots graduated.

An F-16 fighter jet of the Royal Netherlands Air Force at Volkel air base, February 2024. Photo credits: Rick van Engelen

He noted that some Ukrainian pilots were still undergoing training in the United States.

Ukrainian pilots arrived in the United States in multiple tranches. Thus, in October 2023, the first group left for the United States. The National Guard said it had been planning to train a total of 12 Ukrainian F-16 pilots by the end of fiscal 2024. "The pilot training was expected to be completed between this month and August", Hannigan previously said.

"We're thinking more long-term, so some of the requirements on them have shifted, and so that has necessitated a little bit longer [timeframe]," director of the Air National Guard Lt. Gen. Michael A.

Loh said

F-16 pilot. USA.

2024. Photo credits: 162nd Wing

The pilots who have completed their training in the United States will travel to Europe to improve their piloting skills on European F-16 MLU aircraft.

In addition to the United States, Ukrainian cadets receive their initial flight training in the United Kingdom, and active pilots receive training in Denmark and the United States.

Militarnyi previously reported that the first F-16 fighter jet maintenance specialists haf begun to return to Ukraine.

In particular, Ukrainian technicians learn to maintain all the important elements of the fighter pilot's protective equipment, such as the helmet, oxygen system, and parachute system on board.