Ukraine estimates that its pilots will need about half a year of training to learn to fly Western fighter jets, such as the US F-16as Kyiv steps up its push to secure such fourth-generation aircraft to repel the Russian invasion.
This week Germany, the US and other countries announced they would deliver heavy tanks to Ukraine, which now hopes the West will also equip it with long-range missiles and fighter jets.
An Air Force spokesman, Yuriy Ikhnat, said the F-16s might be the best option to replace Ukraine’s current fleet. According to Ikhnat, the military currently uses four types of Soviet-era aircraft, which means that these aircraft are older than the country itself.
“Pilots say they have no problem flying the F-16, they could learn it in a few weeks. Fighting with these planes is something very different (…) The pilots say they could do it” within about six months, he explained.
THE Ukraine currently uses its aircraft for interception missions and for attacks on Russian positions.
In the United States, White House deputy national security adviser John Feiner told MSNBC on Thursday that the United States would discuss the idea of procuring fighter jets “very carefully» with Kyiv and its allies.
Ikhnat explained that in addition to pilots, aircraft engineers and other specialists would also need to be trained. He also said that in Ukraine, work has already begun in various regions to build airport infrastructure for Western aircraft.
Oleksii Danilov, the secretary of the National Defense and Security Council, posted a video on Twitter showing a Western fighter jet taking off and captioned it:Soon in Ukraine”.
Source: News Beast
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