Two Ukrainian pilots went to the American state of Arizona to conduct flights on aviation simulators and evaluate their skills by the American military. This will allow the US to better advise our pilots on professional matters.
NBC News writes about this with reference to sources.
The publication notes that the US authorities approved the arrival of 10 more Ukrainian pilots for the same purpose already this month.
The arrival of the first two pilots marks the first time that Ukrainian pilots have traveled to the United States to have their skills assessed by American military instructors. Officials said the event has a dual purpose: to improve pilot skills and to estimate how long a proper training program might take. They will also determine how quickly Ukrainian pilots will be able to master Western aviation.
"The program is about assessing their abilities as pilots so we can better advise them on how to use capabilities they have and we have given them," an administration official said.
Two administration officials emphasized that this is not a training program and said that the Ukrainians will not fly any aircraft while in the United States.
- Ukraine has been officially asking allies to provide modern combat aircraft for several months. President Volodymyr Zelensky called on partners to hand over fighter jets to Ukraine "as soon as possible" to repel Russiaʼs offensive.
- As of February 25, only the training of Ukrainian pilots was announced. Poland and Great Britain agreed to this. Negotiations with three European countries regarding pilot training are ongoing. Currently, no country has officially announced the provision of aircraft to Ukraine.