The United States is open to training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 aircraft on its territory if “the potential for training in Europe is achieved”.
John Kirby, coordinator of strategic communications for the White House National Security Council, said this during an audio briefing, Voice of America reports.
Kirby was answering journalists’ questions about possible delays in training Ukrainian pilots.
“Our European allies, as I said, are leading this effort. But if the training capacity in Europe is reached, we are certainly open to training Ukrainian pilots here in the United States”.
John Kirby, coordinator of strategic communications for the White House National Security Council
He reminded that US President Joe Biden made it clear at the G7 summit in Hiroshima that Washington supports the provision of F-16s to the Ukrainian Air Force.
“And the reason why we’re doing this is as part of a broader effort to make sure that we continue to improve Ukraine’s self-defence and military capabilities over the long term,” Kirby said.
At the same time, he stressed that getting modern aircraft like the F-16 takes time.
“It’s not just a function of handing over the actual airframes, but the training, the appropriate pilot training, and organising all the maintenance, logistics and support efforts required to have modern aircraft like the F-16 in your fleet. All of this takes time. So this is going to be a long-term effort,” Kirby said.
The White House official noted that Ukraine receiving the F-16 will be a multi-stage process, and the United States is committed to helping allies “move this process forward as quickly as possible.”
The Pentagon recently said that President Joe Biden has already agreed to allow the allies to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s.
In mid-July, 11 partner countries and Ukraine signed a memorandum that set out the conditions for training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s.
The training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 jets in Europe is scheduled to begin in August.
The first group of Ukrainian pilots that will participate in F-16 training have been identified. According to Politico, 8 Ukrainian pilots are ready to start training on F-16. All of them are fluent in English.
Another 20 Ukrainian pilots with some language knowledge will attend language courses in the United Kingdom, probably in August, the media reports, quoting an unnamed US official. A total of 32 pilots have been selected.
NATO countries Denmark and the Netherlands are leading an international coalition effort to train Ukrainian pilots and support staff, maintain aircraft, and eventually supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets.
A fighter jet coalition of 11 NATO nations will help Ukrainians learn how to fly the F16s, with much of the training expected in Romania and Denmark. Romania confirmed it will host F-16 training for Ukrainians in a new NATO pilot training centre in the country to operate F-16 fighter jets.
Training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters may take 6 months, but the exact time frame is still to be confirmed.
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