The New York Times reported, quoting an American official, that the Pentagon plans to start training Ukrainian pilots to use F-16 aircraft in the United States next September.
According to the official, the Ukrainian pilots will first pass an English-language course in Texas, and then fly training in Arizona.
The Newspaper pointed out that it was not immediately clear whether the talk was about the same groups of pilots who will be trained in Europe or there will be additional groups of Ukrainian pilots.
It added that the decision is expected to be officially announced later on Thursday (US EST), coinciding with Ukraine’s national holiday, Independence Day.
The newspaper indicates that this represents a shift in Washington’s position, as Pentagon officials said last week that Ukrainian pilots would train in the United States if the efforts of the European coalition to supply Kiev with “F-16” were not enough.
It should be noted that the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway have announced that they will provide the US-made “F-16” aircraft to Ukraine, and Washington has agreed to the delivery of these aircraft by third countries to the Ukrainian forces.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov expected that it would take between 6 and 7 months to train Ukrainian pilots to use the F-16 before the planes are delivered to Kiev.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency