When will Ukraine receive F-16 fighters: military expert Zgurets' optimistic forecast

18 August, 2023 Friday

13:51

Weapons for Ukraine

Ukraine can receive F-16 fighters and trained pilots in at least three to six months

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This was stated by Defense Express analyst Serhiy Zgurets on Espreso TV.

According to him, the main factor that will influence the appearance of fighter jets in Ukraine will be the acceleration of pilot training.

"At best, it will take three to six months. If we start in the near future, only the first quarter of next year may be the time when we can expect, according to the most optimistic estimates, the appearance of F-16 fighters and the first squadron of trained pilots along with technicians," the expert emphasized.

What is known about F-16 fighters 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.
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.
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.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says that the first F-16 fighter jets are likely to fly in Ukraine's skies by the end of March 2024.
Also on July 15, European countries which had promised to start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s said they were still waiting for the United States to officially approve the program.
On Sunday, July 16, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the US would not postpone training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, and Biden allowed European countries to start training.
On August 11, it was reported that the first group of Ukrainian pilots would complete training on F-16 fighter jets no earlier than next summer. The start of combat training will be preceded by 4-month language courses.
Subsequently, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi met with the Chief of Staff of the Slovak Armed Forces in Ukraine. Among the topics discussed was pilot training on F-16 fighter jets.
On August 12, the White House said that the United States could join the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s on its territory if "the potential for training in Europe is achieved."
Later, Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesman for the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told Espreso that work on the transfer of F-16s to Ukraine is underway every day: the negotiation process is complicated - all countries that are part of the "air coalition" make a collective decision.
And Romanian President Klaus Iohannis confirmed that the country will train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s: a regional training center will be opened there.