A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet flies previous throughout the 2nd day of Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru onFeb 14, 2023.
Manjunath Kiran|AFP|Getty Images
Two Ukrainian pilots are presently in the United States going through an evaluation to identify the length of time it might require to train them to fly attack airplane, consisting of F-16 fighter jets, according to 2 congressional authorities and a senior U.S. authorities.
The Ukrainians’ abilities are being examined on simulators at a U.S. military base in Tucson, Arizona, the authorities stated, and they might be signed up with by more of their fellow pilots quickly.
U.S. authorities have actually authorized bringing as much as 10 more Ukrainian pilots to the U.S. for more evaluation as early as this month, the authorities stated.
The arrival of the very first 2 pilots marks the very first time Ukrainian pilots have actually taken a trip to the U.S. to have their abilities examined by American military fitness instructors. Officials stated the effort has twin objectives: to enhance the pilots’ abilities and assess the length of time an appropriate training program might take.
“The program is about assessing their abilities as pilots so we can better advise them on how to use capabilities they have and we have given them,” an administration authorities stated.
Two administration authorities worried that it isn’t a training program and stated that the Ukrainians will not be flying any airplane throughout their time in the U.S.
These authorities stated the pilots will be utilizing a simulator that can imitate flying numerous kinds of airplane, and they highlighted that there are no updates on the U.S. choice to supply F-16’s to Ukraine beyond what the Pentagon’s leading policy authorities stated to Congress recently.
The authorities, Colin Kahl, informed the House Armed Services Committee that the U.S. has actually not decided to supply F-16’s and neither had U.S. allies and partners.
He likewise stated the U.S. has “not started training on F-16s” which the shipment timeline for F-16 s is “essentially the same” as the training timeline, about 18 months.
“So you don’t actually save yourself time by starting the training early in our assessment,” stated Kahl, who is the under secretary of defense for policy. “And since we haven’t made the decision to provide F-16’s and neither have our allies and partners, it doesn’t make sense to start to train them on a system they may never get.”
Other U.S. defense authorities have stated the training might be reduced to 6 to 9 months, depending upon the pilots previous training and understanding of fighter airplane.
Ukrainian authorities have actually informed the U.S. and other allies that they have less than 20 pilots all set to take a trip to the U.S. to train on F-16 s and another 30 or two who might be trained in the future, according to American and Western authorities.
Asked about the evaluation of 2 Ukrainian pilots, a defense authorities explained it as “familiarization event.”
“It is a routine activity as part of our military-to-military dialogue with Ukraine,” the authorities stated.
“The ‘familiarization event’ is essentially a discussion between the Air Force personnel and an observation of how the U.S. Air Force operates. This event allows us to better help Ukrainian pilots become more effective pilots and better advise them on how to develop their own capabilities.”
The defense authorities included that there are no instant strategies to increase the variety of pilots beyond the 2 presently in Tucson however stated “we’re not closing the door on future opportunities.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has actually consistently asked the U.S. for F-16 s, however President Joe Biden has actually withstood the demands up until now. In an interview with ABC News last month, Biden stated Ukraine does not require F-16 s at this time, including that’s based upon the U.S. armed force’s suggestions.
“I’m ruling it out for now,” he stated when asked if he would ever send out F-16 s to Ukraine.
Biden likewise informed press reporters recently that he had actually gone over F-16 s with Zelenskyy throughout his see to Kyiv onFeb 20 however would not divulge the information of that conversation.
In his look prior to the House Armed Services Committee, Kahl stated that Ukrainian authorities have actually asked the U.S. for as numerous as 128 airplane– a mix of F-15 s, F-16 s, and F-18 s.
Kahl stated the U.S. Air Force approximates that Ukraine will eventually require in between 50 and 80 F-16 s to change its present flying force. If the U.S. offers freshly constructed airplane, it will take 3 to 6 years to provide them to Ukraine, with a somewhat much shorter timeline of 18 to 24 months if the U.S. sends out reconditioned older designs F-16 s.
The expense to send out the F-16 s would be as much as $11 billion, depending upon the design and number provided.
“That would consume a huge portion of the remaining security assistance that we have for this fiscal year,” Kahl stated.
On Sunday,Rep Michael McCaul, R-Texas, stated U.S. military authorities informed him they support supplying F-16 s toUkraine
“I was at the Munich Security Conference, met with a lot of the high-ranking military officials, including our supreme allied commander,” McCaul stated on ABC News’ “This Week.”
“They’re all in favor of us putting not only F-16s in but longer-range artillery, to take out the Iranian drones in Crimea.”
But with the long timeline for shipment and training of F-16 s, the big cost and the big Russian Air Force currently collecting airplane throughout the border from Ukraine, some United States military leaders advise concentrating on weapons and devices that Ukraine can utilize instantly like air defense systems.
“Even in our most earnest effort it will take months to get Ukrainians flying F-16s. They are beating the Russian Air Force with air defenses, why would we change tactics now?” a U.S. defense authorities stated.
The Russian Air Force has approximately 500 airplane, the authorities stated, which overshadows the Ukrainian force.
“It’s just not the way to fight the Russian Air Force,” the authorities included. “Even if we spend all the money and send every aircraft we can, it’s just a drop in the bucket compared to the Russian Air Force.”
