Yuriy Ignat, the spokesman of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that Ukrainian pilots will need about six months to master the American F-16 fighter.
CNN writes about it.
“Our pilots can learn to fly these planes in a matter of weeks. To master how to fight with those planes, it takes time, about half a year," said Ihnat.
He added that intensive training would also be needed for the ground crews that will operate the F-16s.
- The F-16 is an American multipurpose light fighter that the United States manufactures for export. Almost since the beginning of the war, Ukraine has been asking the US to hand over the F-16, but to no avail.
- The American company Lockheed Martin said that it is ready to supply its F-16s to countries that will transfer the planes to Ukraine.
- Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nagy said that his country is ready to immediately transfer 30 T-72 tanks to Ukraine if they are replaced by Western tanks. Slovakia is also ready to discuss the transfer of its MiG-29 fighters to Ukrainians.