Training starts in September
USA also wants to deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine
08/25/2023, 07:25 am
After Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway, Ukraine could soon receive the next commitment for a delivery of F-16 aircraft. Meanwhile, President Biden and his counterpart Zelenskyj are talking about the start of pilot training.
According to the top US general, Ukraine is likely to receive F-16 fighter jets soon. US Chief of Staff Mark Milley says in an exclusive interview with Jordanian public broadcaster Al-Mamlaka: “F-16s. It’s actually moving forward. There’s a training program and they’ll probably get F-16s in the not too distant future.”
US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke on Thursday about the planned training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets. Biden and Zelenskyy spoke about “starting training for Ukrainian fighter pilots” and “assurance of expedited approval for other nations to hand over their F-16s to Ukraine after training is complete,” the White House said.
Earlier, the US Department of Defense said the US will begin training Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilots in September. Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said at a news conference on Thursday that the pilots would first receive English lessons at an air force base in San Antonio, Texas. Flight training will then begin in Arizona in October. It might take several months.
Counteroffensive “is not over yet”
Denmark, the Netherlands and most recently Norway have pledged deliveries of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Denmark and the Netherlands are also leading efforts to train Ukrainian pilots. The US would now support those efforts, Ryder said.
US Chief of Staff Milley said in the interview that it was too early to say whether Ukraine’s counteroffensive had failed. “Ukrainians still have a considerable amount of fighting power; it’s not over yet”. So far, she’s clearly had partial success. The pace of the offensive is slower than the planners had thought.
Ukraine launched a major counter-offensive in early June to recapture the territories occupied by Russia. Most recently, Kiev had admitted difficulties in advancing against the Russian units. These were able to consolidate their defenses in the occupied areas, including with tank traps and mines.