U.S. Shifts Ukraine’s F-16 Training to Focus on Younger Pilots

The new direction is the result of the lack of experienced Ukrainian pilots with requisite English-language abilities who can be spared from the battlefield, U.S. officials said. Some officials also said that the U.S. believes younger cadets would be more open to Western-style instruction.

Ukraine is desperate for additional F-16s and pilots to bolster its air defenses, which are being overwhelmed by Russian aerial attacks. The bombardments are devastating Ukraine’s military as well as damaging critical civilian infrastructure like the power grid, a growing vulnerability as the weather turns colder. 

For the past year, the U.S. and international partners have been training small numbers of Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 jet fighters at three separate locations: Morris Air National Guard Base in Arizona, the Danish military air base in Skrydstrup—which shuttered recently as the Royal Danish Air Force transitions to the new F-35—and the recently opened Fetești Training Center in Romania. A dozen pilots have passed through the courses so far, and 11 of those are now flying in Ukraine.

Even before the decision, Ukraine likely wouldn’t have a full squadron of F-16s—20 planes and 40 pilots to operate them—until spring or summer next year at the earliest, according to a person with knowledge of the program.

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Even after training [two years], Western pilots typically fly for months in exercises and with their units before executing live missions. Ukraine’s new F-16 pilots, by contrast, have been transferring from training directly to the battlefield, without the time and experience generally required to operate the advanced airplane optimally.

The U.S. accelerated the training course for Ukraine’s veteran pilots to six to nine months, depending on experience, by focusing on the specific missions they would face in the war against Russia, primarily air defense.

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This dynamic reflects a frequent tension on weapons training between NATO instructors, who have a set way of doing things, and Ukrainians, who are faced with immediate needs in the war against Russia and often have more battlefield experience than their Western trainers, according to people familiar with the matter. 

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Eight cadets who spent the past year learning basic flying skills on Alpha Jets, a jet trainer aircraft, in France, started training last month on the F-16 in Romania, according to a person familiar with the program. Another eight, all experienced fighter pilots, are wrapping up F-16 training in Arizona now and will arrive in Ukraine early next year. 

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At Ukraine’s urging, President Biden announced last month that the U.S. would expand the number of positions in the program from 12 to 18 total in Arizona and Romania. This expansion will take place next year, according to a Pentagon spokesman.

Related:

Lockheed Martin To Partner With Multiple European Companies On F-16 Training Center In Romania

FETESTI, Romania, Nov. 13, 2023 – The first European F-16 Training Center was inaugurated on Monday, Nov. 13, at the Fetești Air Base in southern Romania. Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and subcontractors, Daedalus Aviation Group, Draken International, GFD, a subsidiary of Airbus Defence and Space, and ILIAS Solutions will work as one team to provide F-16 training at the newly formed center, which is the result of unique collaboration between the Romanian Ministry of National Defence, the Romanian Air Force and the Royal Netherlands Air Force, in partnership with Lockheed Martin.