MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. Ukrainian military pilots will learn to fly F-16 fighter jets in Denmark for four to six months, while in the UK the training period will take one to two years. This was announced by the representative of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) Yuriy Ignat. He explained that the difference in timing is explained by the fact that experienced pilots went to Denmark, and recent flight school graduates went to the UK.
“The pilots who went to Denmark with us are already ready, they have flight hours, they have combat experience, but this is all on Soviet aircraft. They need to retrain on Western technology, on the F-16, and this requires some time,” – Ignat said on the telethon. “Everyone is interested in the timing, they can be different, since everyone has individual training. But earlier in the United States, our Western partners and we optimistically said that [the training period would be] six months, and they (the American side – TASS note) even said “that four months may be enough,” said a representative of the Ukrainian Air Force.
“The UK is already training our recent graduates, 2023, there will be basic training,” said Ignat. He explained that the training program for Ukrainian military pilots in the UK will include in-depth study of the English language and English flight terminology, control of a light aircraft, and then a fighter. “But here we are not talking about months, but about years, because the program will take a year or two in any case,” Ignat explained.
On August 20, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a “breakthrough agreement” with the Netherlands on the supply of 42 F-16 fighter jets to Kiev. Denmark also announced its readiness to transfer 19 F-16 fighters to Ukraine, the first 6 aircraft will arrive before the end of this year. Denmark and the Netherlands have already announced the training of Ukrainian pilots, with the help of nine other countries. Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykola Oleshchuk said in mid-August that two Ukrainian pilots were tested by American instructors on F16 aircraft. According to Oleshchuk, the general training period takes 32 months, but it was decided specifically for these two pilots that they could master the F-16 aircraft in four months.
As the commander of the US Air Force in Europe and Africa, General James Hecker, previously said at a meeting with a Washington group of military observers, of which TASS is a member, preparing Ukrainian F-16 squadrons for participation in combat operations could take up to five years . At the same time, according to him, the transfer of aircraft by the West will not radically change the course of hostilities in favor of Kyiv.
Source : Tass
