F-16 questions remain as Ukrainian pilots set to start training this month
Ukrainians have been pleading with Western allies to supply them with F-16 jets to be able to fend off Russian attack aircraft and better protect their skies
By Natasha Bertrand and Jennifer Hansler, CNN
Washington (CNN) — The US is still waiting for European officials to submit a final plan for training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, which the US will have to authorize before the program can actually begin, officials familiar with the matter told CNN.
The training is supposed to start this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European officials have said publicly. But two months after President Joe Biden announced US support for training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s, there remain a number of critical details to work out.
The US still needs to approve the transfer of F-16-specific equipment and materials, including flight simulators and training manuals. But officials told CNN that the Biden administration has not yet received a final training plan from the Europeans, meaning there is nothing for the US to sign off on yet.
It is also still unclear which countries will commit F-16s to the training program – and to Ukraine itself once the program is finished. Transferring the planes to Ukraine will require separate US approval.
US defense officials told CNN that the US is still deciding whether to send American pilots to help train the Ukrainians, but that no decisions will be made until a final training plan is authorized.
A spokesperson for Denmark’s Ministry of Defense would not comment directly on whether the country had submitted a formal plan to the US for approval. But the spokesperson provided a one-page training concept to CNN that said the course will aim to train pilots and ground crew over a span of six months, taking place at a number of locations including Skrydstrup Fighter Base in Denmark.
The training concept also said the coalition had agreed to support the training with “language experts, pilots, ground crew, instructors, aircraft or funding as appropriate. Ukraine is expected to provide qualified personnel able to pass necessary language, health, and security tests.”
A spokesperson for the Dutch Ministry of Defense said they had no updates. Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told CNN last month that the training was set to begin in Denmark in August, and then be continued “in a sustainable way” at a training hub in Romania. The training program will be for Ukraine and “also for other countries who are transitioning to the fourth generation fighter jets,” she said.
A faster training timeline
The training program is being supported by a coalition of 11 NATO countries and requires official US approval because the F-16 is an American technology.
The course itself is expected to be conducted in Denmark and Romania, with help from the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and the UK, officials have said. But the details, including the dates, locations, and length of the syllabus “are still being worked out,” National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said during a briefing last week.
Ukrainians have come to the US for military training in the past, specifically on Patriot air defense systems at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. But US officials have emphasized that all the training on F-16s will take place in Europe.
Even so, the final syllabus for the course will probably be similar to one created by the US Air Force earlier this year, officials said. The Air Force devised a hypothetical training plan after observing the skills of two Ukrainian pilots flying F-16 simulators at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona.
An internal Air Force memo detailing the assessment, first obtained by Yahoo and verified to CNN by an Air Force official, said the Ukrainians’ skillset suggested that training could be completed in four to five months.
The timeline is faster than the standard F-16 training program for US Air Force pilots, but it strips out missions and tasks unnecessary for Ukrainian pilots facing off against the Russian military, doing away with things like air-to-air refueling and instrument landing procedures.
The number of Ukrainian pilots set to be trained is also still being determined, but the Air Force memo recommended a pool of 10-12 participants. That is in line with the number of pilots US defense officials believe Ukraine will be able to realistically sacrifice for a months-long training course in Europe as the war rages on.
The Ukrainians will also have to clear another key hurdle before they can train on the F-16s: English-language proficiency. The Air Force memo described the pilots’ English-language aptitude as a “concern” and said “additional language training will be required for the majority of the initial cadre” of pilots. The UK has offered to provide that instruction as part of the course, officials said, and the US is considering providing English teachers to the program as well.
‘The US will not be the holdup’
Ukraine has been pleading for the advanced western jets for more than a year, arguing that they will provide the military with additional air defense and offensive capabilities.
Though F-16s began flying at about the same time as the Mig-29s and Su-27s in Ukraine’s Air Force, the American fighter has been continuously upgraded with more advanced digital electronics and avionics, making it a more capable multi-role aircraft than Kyiv’s Soviet-era fighter fleet.
The fourth-generation F-16 can perform air-to-air missions, defending Ukraine’s airspace against Russian aircraft, and air-to-ground missions, attacking Russian forces on the battlefield. The F-16 has also been exported to many countries around the world, including in Europe, providing Ukraine with a potential supply of weaponry and spare parts once they acquire the jet.
US officials have emphasized that they won’t be an impediment to the F1-6 training, and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN last month that the US will provide the necessary support for the program “as soon as the Europeans are prepared.”
“The president has given a green light, and we will allow, permit, support, facilitate, and, in fact, provide the necessary tools for Ukrainians to begin being trained on F-16s as soon as the Europeans are prepared,” he said. “The United States will not be the holdup in ensuring that this F-16 training can get under way.”
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CNN’s Oren Liebermann contributed to this report.
