Pentagon: US government shutdown will affect training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s

Sabrina Singh, US Defense Department Deputy Spokesperson, has said that the likely shutdown of the US government, which will see a temporary suspension of the US federal government, will affect the F-16 training program for Ukrainian pilots and technicians.

Source: Sabrina Singh during a press briefing on 28 September

Details: Singh said that a "government shutdown is a worst case scenario for the department" as far as training Ukrainian pilots to operate the F-16 fighter jets is concerned.

She explained that in case of a shutdown, "service members would be required to continue working but would be doing so without pay and hundreds and thousands of their civilian colleagues would be furloughed."

"[C]ivilian personnel that are involved in the training of Ukrainian pilots, such as English language training is what we’re talking about right now… Absolutely, there could be impacts to training," Singh said.

She added that the Pentagon hopes for a bipartisan decision by both bodies of the US Congress to avoid a shutdown.

Background:

• The US Department of Defense announced last week that Ukrainian military personnel will arrive on US soil for F-16 training in the near future. The pilots will first undergo English language training in Texas and then begin several months of flight training in Arizona.
• A group of Ukrainian pilots started training on F-16 fighter jets in Denmark in August. Meanwhile, the Belgian government confirmed the country will take part in training Ukrainian pilots to operate the F-16s as part of the "fighter jet coalition", and Greece and Portugal announced that they will also train Ukrainian pilots.

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