Republican Adam Kinzinger in an interview LIGA.net said that in order to learn how to fly Western F-16 fighters, Ukrainian pilots will need some time, and Ukraine must decide whether it is ready to withdraw its soldiers from combat duty by sending them to training.
According to a former US Air Force pilot, experienced pilots can learn to fly an F-16 in four months.
However, he says, there are different levels of training and warriors of different preparedness.
“There are people who can barely fly. And there are those who have flown other planes. So there are four months for experienced pilots,” he says.
Kinzinger asked “an important question for Ukraine itself”: how many of these pilots can you afford to take off combat duty for training?
According to him, now “there are enough experienced pilots for the existing aircraft.”
So, he adds, “I don’t think it hurts Ukraine’s ability to defend itself while the pilots are training for the F-16.”
- May 21, 2023 President of the United States Joe Biden officially announcedthat the US military will start training Ukrainian pilots for the F-16.
- May 22 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands briefedthat training will start soon.
- On May 25, Foreign Policy wrote that first stage of training Ukrainian military on the F-16 will take place in the UK.
Read also: “Putin thought we would crack.” Maximum readiness for the F-16: decided Rammstein-12
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