WSJ: US will now train more young Ukrainian F-16 pilots instead of experienced ones

The US is reorienting the training of Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilots to junior cadets, not to experienced military personnel. This decision may delay the moment when Ukraine will receive a full combat-ready squadron of F-16s.

The Wall Street Journal writes about it.

The reason for this decision is that there are few experienced Ukrainian pilots with knowledge of the English language. In the US, it is also believed that young soldiers will be more open to the Western style of training.

During the year, the US and other partners trained a small number of Ukrainian pilots. A dozen pilots have completed the courses, 11 of them are currently flying F-16s in Ukraine. However, Ukraine will most likely not have a full F-16 squadron — 20 aircraft and 40 pilots — by spring or summer next year.

Eight experienced fighter pilots are currently completing F-16 training in Arizona and will arrive in Ukraine in early 2025.

Experienced pilots who went for training skipped basic flight training, while newcomers must spend a year learning to fly at bases in Great Britain and France before moving on to the F-16 course in Arizona (US) and Romania.

For US Air Force pilots, training takes about two years from start to finish. They undergo about a year of basic flight training, then spend four to six months flying their chosen aircraft and another four to six months learning the procedures of their operational unit. And later, American pilots spend a lot of time training before going on combat missions. At the same time, Ukrainian pilots immediately went into aerial combat after short training sessions.

American officials say that Ukrainian pilots have problems with the training program in English. Another problem was that the experienced pilots from Ukraine actually had significantly more combat experience than their Western instructors.

However, it is young pilots who had experience flying Soviet jet fighters and were in a combat zone, who are more receptive to American training methods.

• Four countries agreed to transfer F-16 fighters to Ukraine: the Netherlands, Denmark (19 units), Belgium (30 F-16 fighters by 2028) and Norway — 6 F-16 aircraft. In early October, the Netherlands delivered the first batch of planes to Ukraine.

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