Training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 aircraft begins in Denmark

This is reported by AP.

Poulsen noted that Denmark, which is a NATO country, has taken a step to start training and professional development of Ukrainian pilots.

“We will also consider whether we should make a concrete donation to Ukraine of the Danish F-16 fighters, and how many there should be,” he said.

Lund Poulsen said that Ukrainian pilots would have to spend six to eight months training before the possible provision of Danish F-16s would become a reality.

“This does not mean that you cannot make a decision beforehand. But (the F-16 planes) will be in Denmark until 2024,” Lund Poulsen said.

F-16 fighter jets for Ukraine

On May 21, U.S. 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, Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov expressed confidence that we would have a "bird coalition."

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, the United States received a request from Denmark to train Ukrainian pilots to use F-16 fighters.