US tests Ukrainian pilots: it will take them 4 months to master F-16 

This was announced by the spokesman for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yurii Ihnat, commenting on the training of Ukrainian pilots to use F-16s, Ukrinform reports.

"Our pilots were evaluated. They were combat pilots with combat experience, with a lot of hours. Today, all pilots in combat conditions are performing extremely difficult tasks, doing heroic things on old equipment, which is sometimes twice as old as the pilots themselves... Our American partners have concluded that up to four months will probably be enough to retrain such trained pilots as ours. Not to teach, but to retrain for a different type of aircraft," the spokesman explained.

According to Ihnat, it is not only about take-off and landing skills, but also about combat operations and the use of weapons.

 "Each pilot has his or her own individual training, each pilot will have an individual programme in a different way, some will be faster, some later, but the pilots are already preparing here, studying some theoretical things and making huge steps, respectively. Let's not forget about engineers and combat command officers," Ihnat said, adding that the use of F-16s could radically change the situation on the battlefield.

• President Joe Biden's administration has informed its allies in Europe that the United States will allow them to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.