The U.S. will begin training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets within weeks, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters the department anticipates “several pilots and dozens of maintainers” from Ukraine will participate in the training effort, which will begin with English language training in September and then F-16 flight training in October.
“The training provided by the United States will complement the F-16 pilot and maintenance training that’s already underway in Europe and further deepens our support for the F-16 training coalition led by Denmark and the Netherlands. Moving forward, we will remain in close consultation with the Danes, the Dutch and other allies to ensure U.S. training complements the broader coalition training effort,” Ryder said during a press briefing on Thursday.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced in late May that Denmark and the Netherlands would lead the effort to train Ukrainian pilots on Lockheed Martin [LMT]-built F-16s to assist in its fight against Russia’s ongoing invasion, noting the U.S., Norway, Belgium, Portugal and Poland and others will also contribute to the initiative (Defense Daily, May 25).
Ryder was asked about previous comments on Tuesday that the Pentagon was prepared to potentially train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in the U.S. “if capacity is reached in Europe,” and what changed since that point (Defense Daily, Aug. 22).
“As we looked at our European allies providing this training, [we’re] recognizing the fact that we want to do everything we can to help move this effort along as quickly as possible in support of Ukraine. We know that as the Danes and the Dutch prepare to train those pilots that, at a certain point in time in the future, capacity will be reached. So, preemptively, [we’re] acknowledging that and leaning forward in order to assist with this effort. [That’s] the impetus for why we’re doing this now,” Ryder told reporters on Thursday.
Denmark has reportedly started training the first eight Ukrainian pilots on F-16s, with Greece also having announced plans to support the training effort.
The U.S.-based effort will begin with English language training for Ukrainian pilots at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, Ryder noted.
“Importantly, although some Ukrainian pilots have English language skills, we are anticipating that all of the pilots coming to the United States will require some level of additional English language instruction given the complexities and the specialized English that’s required to fly these aircraft,” Ryder said.
The Ukrainian pilots will then begin F-16 training in October at Morris Air National Guard Base in Arizona, with Ryder noting the length of the training process will depend on the individual pilots’ skill levels.
“Your basic new F-16 pilot with not a lot of training on the U.S.-side, that training typically lasts about eight months. For a pilot that’s experienced, [where] you’re doing upgrade training for example, that can range within the five-month range. So a lot is going to depend on those individual pilots and the assessment in terms of where they’re at in that process,” Ryder said.
Last week, the State Department confirmed the U.S. has given “formal assurances” to Denmark and the Netherlands that it will expedite requests for transferring F-16s to Ukraine once pilot training is completed (Defense Daily, Aug. 18).
Ryder said on Thursday he wouldn’t speculate on when F-16s could ultimately be transferred to Ukraine, but reiterated it’s likely in a factor of “months not weeks” and will occur after the training process.
“As we said from the very beginning in May, this is about the long-term support to Ukraine. This is not about the counteroffensive that they’re conducting right now,” Ryder said. “Obviously, we’re going to work as fast as we can. But…you don’t want to rush a pilot and train him in a high-performance combat aircraft and then put him in harm’s way not fully prepared.”