Romania confirms it will host F-16 training for Ukrainians

Romania’s Supreme Council of National Defence discussed a project to create a pilot training centre in the country to operate F-16 fighter jets, which NATO members and allies will use.

The CSAT meeting discussed Romania’s participation in the transatlantic project of a pilot training centre for the operation of F-16 aircraft, which will be created jointly with other allies and the Lockheed Martin development company.

Romania will create a pilot training centre to operate F-16 fighter jets

“Romanian pilots who operate F-16s will be trained here, and later this centre will be open to pilots from NATO member states and partners, including Ukraine,” the statement said.

CSAT notes that the training centre will meet the training requirements of NATO members and regional partners, “positioning Romania as a regional leader in F-16 pilot training“.

Read also: How do F-16s protect Ukraine, and why does the Ukrainian Army need them?

In late June, the media reported that the states that make up the so-called Fighter Coalition are considering Romania as a possible location for training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s.

Training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s

It was expected that by July, Ukraine’s partners would approve a programme to train Ukrainian pilots, engineers and technicians on F-16s, with the training taking place in a specially created centre in Europe.

US defence manufacturer Lockheed Martin has said it stands ready to help Ukrainian pilots fly and maintain its F-16 fighter jets if NATO member states agree to send them to help the country against Russian aggression.

The Western nations discussed providing Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets at a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine’s Defence in Ramstein format in June.

F-16 Coalition for Ukraine

Ukraine has agreed with its Western allies to create a coalition of fighter jets to fight Russian war aggression. This means that modern NATO fighter jets will soon be defending Ukrainian skies.

The creation of the “fighter jet coalition”, which has already included the United States and other allies of Ukraine, will be one of the most critical stages in the war against Russia.

According to Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, “one of the countries” promised Ukraine to start training Ukrainians on F-16 fighter jets in June. Still, according to him, this did not happen due to a miscalculation.

Read also: Ukraine may receive F-16 fighter jets early next year