Europe still waiting for US permission to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s 

Politico reported the information.

Training on the F-16 cannot begin until the US Department of State officially signs a request for the transfer of operating instructions, simulators, and other aircraft-related materials.

Although President Joe Biden has promised to give the program the green light, the formal request is "still being reviewed," said Lt. Col. Garron Garn, a Pentagon spokesman who deferred further questions to the Department of State . 

"There’s no indication right now that the US won’t eventually give a green light. But Europeans’ requests have already been in the pipeline for weeks," the statement said.

A spokesman for the Dutch Defense Ministry would not comment on the Pentagon's request, but said that "every step we take regarding F-16 training we do so in close consultations with the Americans and other partners."

F-16 fighter jets for Ukraine

On May 21, US President Joe Biden approved the training of Ukrainians on F-16s. Volodymyr Zelenskyy assured that Ukraine would not use these aircraft to strike at Russian territory. Defense Ministry adviser Yuriy Sak said that Ukraine hopes to receive the first modern American F-16 fighters in the fall of 2023.

On May 25, at a meeting in the Ramstein format, it was announced that the coalition to train the Ukrainian Armed Forces with F-16s would be led by Denmark and the Netherlands and would include four other countries: Norway, Belgium, Portugal, and Poland. 

On June 14, one of the leaders of the "aviation coalition," the Netherlands, announced that training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s would begin in the coming months.

On June 15, following the Ramstein meeting, Stoltenberg said that training on the F-16 had already begun. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin noted the rapid progress in this area, and a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force said that they wanted a quick result, but that "the process is delayed."

The same day, it was reported that Denmark and the Netherlands plan to start training Ukrainian pilots this summer and will establish a training center in an Eastern European NATO country.

Following the Ramstein meeting, Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov expressed confidence that we would have a "bird coalition." He also assured that the pilots of the Ukrainian Air Force can master the Western F-16 fighters faster than Ukraine's allies expect, and the four-month period looks realistic, while technicians need more time.

According to a Politico source, a coalition of Western countries is considering Romania as a place to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s.

On June 22, Denmark requested assistance from the United States to train Ukrainian pilots in the use of F-16 fighters.

On June 26, Acting Defense Minister of Denmark, Troels Lund Poulsen, announced the commencement of training for pilots from Ukraine on Western F-16 fighter jets.

On July 1, President Zelenskyy mentioned that the schedule for training Ukrainian pilots on Western F-16 fighter jets has not been finalized yet, and some foreign partners are causing delays.

On July 6, media reported that Romania would become a base for training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s.

On July 7, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Prague that the country will supply helicopters and train pilots to fly F-16s.

On July 11, Ukraine agreed to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 combat aircraft with France. The countries will sign a memorandum.  On the same day, Ukraine signed a memorandum with 11 partner countries to create a coalition to train pilots on F-16 fighter jets.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says that the first F-16 fighter jets are likely to be flying in Ukraine's skies by the end of March 2024.