DÉFENSE ZONE
Ukrainian pilots will begin training on F-16 fighter jets in Arizona this week.
Ukrainian pilots are about to begin their training on the F-16 fighter at the Air National Guard base in Tucson, Arizona. According to several US officials, a small group of pilots, who arrived in the United States last month to take an English course at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, has passed their first English proficiency test. They are now heading to Morris Air National Guard Base in Arizona.
The pilots will be trained by the 162nd Wing, the US Air Force’s main F-16 training centre. They will start by learning the basics of how the F-16 works in the classroom and on simulators before moving on to actual flying. However, given the urgent need to send them back to the battlefield, the programme could be accelerated.
This initiative follows the United States’ announcement that it would lead a coalition of countries to train Ukrainian pilots and crews to operate and maintain F-16s, with the participation of the Netherlands and Denmark. So far, 11 countries have committed to helping with the training, and the Netherlands, Denmark and Belgium will supply aircraft.
At a press conference in Brussels earlier this week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the F-16s would arrive on the battlefield next spring at the earliest.
The training comes amid concerns about the Pentagon’s funding of military aid to Ukraine, as well as heightened regional tensions following a surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel.
Ukrainian officials have long expressed the need for modern fighter jets to strengthen their defensive capabilities. F-16 training is a crucial step in that direction.
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