Romania has officially confirmed that it will train Ukrainian pilots on the F-16

The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis confirmed that his country will train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets. For this, a regional training center will be opened.

Iohannis said this in a speech during the celebrations on the occasion of the Day of the Romanian Navy.

According to him, the training center will train not only Ukrainians, but also pilots of NATO member countries.

"We will participate in the training of the Ukrainian military within the framework of the European Unionʼs military assistance mission and will host the future regional F-16 pilot training center, which will serve both Romanian and Ukrainian pilots, as well as pilots from the member countries of the Alliance," he noted.

• Denmark and the Netherlands will be the first countries to start training pilots. On August 5, it became known that the Ukrainian Air Force has identified the first group of 8 pilots who will train on F-16 fighters. They speak English fluently and are ready to join the work as soon as the official training plan is ready. Another 20 pilots are preparing for language courses in Britain, which will start this month. In total, 32 pilots were selected to participate in the program. This amount is enough to create two squadrons.
• The official training plan has not yet been approved. On July 1, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the partners were delaying the training schedule of Ukrainian pilots.