Another group of Ukrainian pilots completed training in Britain. After that, they will be trained in depth to fly high-speed jets and will move on to the F-16.
In total, London has already trained 200 Ukrainian pilots, Deputy Head of the Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense Luke Pollard said on Twitter.
Pollard stressed that the UK intends to provide support to Ukraine “as long as needed.”
Earlier, US President Joe Biden said that as part of increasing the potential of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the US Department of Defense would train another 18 Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukraine now has 11 pilots trained to fly the F-16. Eight pilots are expected to arrive in the country in early 2025, completing the program in the United States. In September 2024, eight trainees began training in Romania. Several pilots, according to one of the sources, took the course in Denmark but were unable to complete it.
In addition, the Dutch Minister of Defense confirmed the supply of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
For the first time, I can officially announce that the first Dutch F-16 fighters have been delivered to Ukraine. This was very necessary. In Kharkov, I saw damage from Russian airstrikes and heard frequent air raid signals. The remaining 24 aircraft will arrive in the coming months, he wrote.
In total, Amsterdam must send 24 aircraft to Kyiv. Brekelmans did not reveal how many Ukraine already has, but said that more F-16s would arrive in the country “in the coming months, by early next year.”
Source: Racurs
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