White House on prospects of training Ukrainian pilots to operate F-16 jets

The US has said that though it will take time to train Ukrainian pilots to operate F-16 fighter jets, develop Ukraine’s infrastructure and set up F-16 service and maintenance facilities, it is working to help its allies speed up those processes.

Source: Ukrinform, citing White House spokesperson John Kirby during a press briefing on 11 August

Details: Kirby said that it will take time to transfer jet aircraft to Ukraine and integrate them into its fleet. He explained that this entails not just the physical transfer of the aircraft, but also pilot training and setting up maintenance, logistics, and support systems.

Kirby said that all this entails long-term efforts, but stressed that US President Joe Biden was determined to fulfill his promise to Ukraine. He added that the US was working with its European partners to achieve this.

In particular, the US is closely cooperating with Denmark, the Netherlands and other countries to develop a training curriculum for Ukrainian pilots. Kirby also stressed the importance of offering language training to Ukrainian personnel, which is the UK’s prerogative.

With all technical manuals and all control panels inside the aircraft in English, pilots have to have at least a basic grasp of the language, Kirby said.

He concluded that the process of transferring F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine was a multi-staged process, and stressed that the US will help its allies make sure it progresses as quickly as possible.

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