Ukrainian Pilots Have Begun US F-16 Training With Arizona Air National Guard

They could be certified and become operational in early 2024. JL 

Thomas Newdick reports in The Drive:

Ukrainian fighter pilots began training on F-16s in the United States this week. “The 162nd Wing, Arizona Air National Guard, began training Ukrainian pilots this week in F-16 fundamentals. The training curriculum will align with the foundational knowledge and skills of each pilot and is expected to last several months. The training is taking place at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizon. The launch of this part of the syllabus indicates that the first cadre of pilots have now completed language training

Ukrainian fighter pilots began training on F-16s in the United States this week, a U.S. Air Force spokesperson has confirmed to The War Zone. This kicks off the process of getting these aircraft into Ukrainian Air Force hands, after a long campaign to secure them and then develop a path to train aircrew and maintainers.

“The 162nd Wing, Arizona Air National Guard, began training a small number of Ukrainian pilots this week in F-16 fundamentals,” the Air Force spokesperson said. “The training curriculum will align with the foundational knowledge and skills of each pilot and is expected to last several months. This follows President Biden and Secretary Austin’s decision to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s as part of the United States contribution to Ukraine.”

The training is taking place at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona, facilitated by the 162nd Wing. The launch of this part of the syllabus indicates that at least the first cadre of pilots have now completed language training, which was undertaken at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

Back in August, Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, told reporters, including from The War Zone, that the training will involve “several pilots and dozens of maintainers.”

Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder addresses members of the press during a press conference at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Defense photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jack Sanders

As we have reported before, training for Ukrainians in language and operational skills was previously launched in the United Kingdom and Denmark, with many other countries pledging to take part as well.

In August, the general in charge of U.S. and NATO air operations said it would take until next year before Ukrainian pilots take to the air in F-16s and that it would take much longer still — not before 2027 — for them to become fully combat proficient in sufficient numbers.

“You can get proficient on some weapons systems fairly quickly,” said U.S. Air Force Gen. James Hecker, head of U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), as well as NATO’s Allied Air Command and U.S. Air Forces Africa (AFAFRICA).

“It takes a while to build a couple of squadrons of F-16s and to get their readiness high enough and their proficiency high enough. This could be four or five years down the road,” Hecker added.

Still, for the Ukrainian Air Force — which is still going into battle in dwindling numbers of Cold War-era, Soviet-made Su-27 Flankers and MiG-29 Fulcrums — the latest milestone is an important one that continues the countdown to them getting their hands on the long-awaited F-16s.