US gives green light to training Ukrainian pilots in Western warplanes

The United States is backing a plan by European allies to train Ukrainian pilots in modern fighter jets, including the F-16. The training will take place in Europe in the coming months, and the coalition of participating countries will decide when and how many devices will be delivered – and by whom.

President Biden announced this on Friday, various media reported, to the other leaders of the G7 summit that started on the same day in Hiroshima, Japan. If confirmed, it would mark a breakthrough in Ukraine’s more than year-long effort to acquire modern Western fighter jets to defend against the invading Russian army.

With the decision, the Biden government gives the green light for a coalition of European countries – including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Denmark – to deliver F-16s to Ukraine later this year. Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov previously called “air support” in the form of warplanes a “top priority” for the G7 summit.

The US has so far been very cautious about supplying the American F-16 fighter jets. President Biden said in January that the US will not supply them. Top officials in the Biden administration have since emphasized that the focus is on immediate needs on the battlefield, repeating that F-16s could no longer play a role in a Ukrainian offensive in the coming months. They also emphasized that F-16s are expensive, the technology is complicated and the training time is long.

However, two Ukrainian pilots have recently been trained on simulators in the US to see how much training is needed. Experts say that earlier in this war it has repeatedly been shown that the training time for complex weapon systems in these emergency conditions can be faster than previously thought. Moreover, the combat aircraft are experienced pilots who do not see the inside of a cockpit for the first time. Nevertheless, it will take several months for the training to be launched “in the coming weeks” in Europe, with the help of American personnel.

Wish list

Western fighter jets have long been high on Ukrainian President Zelensky’s wish list, for a number of reasons. The most urgent of these is that Ukraine is in danger of running out of its Soviet-made warplanes in the near future – forcing a switch to Western warplanes. Kiev fears that without these aircraft, both air defense and attempts to regain territory will be seriously jeopardized.

Earlier this week, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands announced they would form an “international coalition” to supply Ukraine with fighter jets and train Ukrainian pilots. Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands have surplus F-16s, which could be transferred to Ukraine with US permission. Belgium and France also showed their immediate willingness to train Ukrainian pilots this week.

position statement

The G7 countries said in a statement Friday that they will take new steps to deprive Russia of the technology and equipment that powers the country’s war industry. This has hardly been successful so far, because a lot of Western technology still finds its way to Russia via third countries. The major industrial countries also say they have guaranteed financial support to Ukraine until early next year.

However, large countries such as India, Indonesia and Brazil have also been invited to the G7, which do not participate in the sanctions against Russia and refrain from taking a position in the war. The fact that Zelensky visited an Arab League meeting in Saudi Arabia on Friday and visits the G7 over the weekend indicates the importance of these countries’ attitudes in efforts to further isolate Russia politically and commercially.