Lockheed Flight Center Will Not Train Ukrainian Pilots for F-16

The company explained why.

The US authorities have not contacted the Lockheed Flight Center regarding the training of Ukrainian pilots , despite problems with the training periods at training centers in Europe.

The company said it wanted to expand its training and double the number of pilots to meet demand from U.S. allies. “With expansion, we could train almost four dozen pilots a year,” Frank St. John, the company’s chief operating officer, said, according to Defense One .

St. John noted that the company’s European center in Romania had just graduated Romanian pilots and was ready to train Ukrainian pilots if asked. But the U.S. government has yet to award Lockheed the contracts.

“Ukraine and the United States are determining what approach is best for training Ukrainian pilots. If they decide that doing it in a Romanian center is the right approach, we will do it,” he commented.

Ukrainian F-16 pilots training in Romania

The training is proceeding more slowly than the transfer of fighters. Ukrainian training centers are located in the United States and Denmark, but the former has limited capacity, and the latter will complete pilot training this year.

To solve the problem, Ukraine wants to hire foreign retired pilots who will fly the transferred F-16s until the Ukrainian pilots complete their training. This initiative has already received support from some Western retired pilots .

(C)UNIAN 2024