A Ukrainian official has claimed that a political decision by Washington is damaging operations against Russia due to the slow pace of F-16 pilot training.
The United States is “deliberately delaying” training for Ukrainian pilots on the F-16, Ukraine claims, which is why it will not have enough pilots trained by the end of the year, The Times reported on 18 June.
Oleksandra Ustinova, head of Ukraine’s special parliamentary commission on arms and munitions, has accused the United States of making “excuses” for failing to train sufficient numbers of Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet pilots.
Ustinova claims this delay means Ukraine will likely have only 20 fully trained F-16 pilots by the end of the year despite the expected arrival of the first jets later this year.
According to Ustinova, “So far, we’re [Ukraine – ed.] going to have fewer trained pilots than fighter jets.”
The Times reported that “only eight Ukrainian pilots” are currently being trained in Tucson, Arizona.
The Times reported, citing Ustiova, that “a political decision by Washington is damaging operations against Russia.”
The third training program in Romania has not yet begun. According to Ustinova, Kyiv asked Washington to provide at least ten more places in the training programs, but its request was rejected.
Washington told Kyiv that other countries were ahead of Ukrainian pilots in the queue for training places and that it could not violate its obligations to them.
A US Defense Department spokesman also claimed that Ukrainian pilots are having difficulty with their English language skills and the flight program, saying that “the progress of training on F-16s is quite meager.”
Ustinova called such claims “ridiculous,” adding that “these are not arguments; they are excuses, and they keep coming up with them again and again.”
Several NATO allies, including Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway, have pledged to transfer more than 60 F-16s to Ukraine earlier.
“Washington told Kyiv that other countries were ahead of Ukrainian pilots in the queue for training places and that it could not violate its obligations to them.”
How many of these other countries are fighting a war against a genocidal maniac, hellbent on destroying their country? It’s been a deliberate ploy from the beginning of this war, and not just with F16s. Ukraine will eventually have 60 F16s, but won’t get enough pilots to fly them until the end of 2025 at the earliest.
I think its bogus too. The pilots could train anywhere there are F16s which means all over Europe and not necessarily by Americans.
Ukraine has to beg for basically everything, while the war criminal can get what he wants from China, Iran and NK. It’s sickening to watch the US admin fuck with people’s lives.
Well, in theory you are right but I so think all F-16 pilots go to Arizona to be educated, also European pilots.
Probably the Europeans only have pilots, not instructors.
^banned muppet
Biden has never been a friend of Ukraine. just look at at 2014. lt’s all a facade
2014 was the Obama administration (which committed more than $600 million in security aid to Ukraine including things like counter-mortar radars, night vision devices and medical supplies). Joe Biden wasn’t in charge then.
No matter how you look at it, Obumer’s “aid” was sorry-assed piss poor.
The broken down Humvees and blankets certainly helped to stop the russian invasion.
I shall NEVER forget the humiliation that I felt when I first heard of Obumer’s “aid”. May he get dick cancer for his spinelessness.
I come across this a few minutes back. I just wonder how many projects like this one are just waiting for the right time to use them?
Sounds interesting.
Only God or the devil know what is being developed or has been. It would be great to hand Ukraine some of them to give them a real life test. But, I think we’ll need a real president for that to happen.
I imagine one of those could make a mess of putler’s nuclear bunker, or cause havoc on the Siberian oil fields.
This reeks of Jake “the snake” Sullivan.
Together, Biden and Trump are turning the United States into another India or Brazil.