WASHINGTON — The U.S. will begin coaching Ukrainian pilots to fly U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, starting at an Air National Guard base in October, the Pentagon mentioned Thursday.

The coaching is a part of a U.S. and European effort to get the superior fighter jets to Ukraine for its protection in opposition to invading Russian forces.

American army officers stress it takes years of coaching to have the ability to area F-16 squadrons, limiting the impression the plane can have on Ukraine’s protection for the close to future.

“This is about the long-term support to Ukraine,” the Pentagon spokesman, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, instructed reporters in Washington. “This is not about the counteroffensive that they’re conducting right now.”

The coaching will happen at Morris Air National Guard base in Tucson, Arizona. The pilots will first endure English instruction at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, to carry their fluency as much as the extent wanted to function the plane, beginning subsequent month, Ryder mentioned.

Ukraine has lengthy pressed for the American fighter jets to assist defend its cities and forces from Russian artillery and aviation. Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway introduced in current days they'd provide the plane to Ukraine.

Ryder mentioned the U.S. determined to affix European allies within the coaching to keep away from bottlenecks in bringing Ukrainian pilots in control.

The U.S. coaching would accommodate “several” Ukrainian fighter pilots and dozens of upkeep folks for the jets, he mentioned.

For skilled pilots, coaching can vary round 5 months, Ryder mentioned. He sketched out programs overlaying fundamentals. In addition to flying the superior craft, they embrace formation flying, working weapons, air fight and suppressing air protection methods, on prime of centrifuge coaching on the bottom to assist pilots face up to the g-forces of an F-16 cockpit.

Copyright © 2023 The Washington Times, LLC.

Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com