Source: Ukraine frustrated with US over F-16 pilot training – POLITICO
Ukrainian officials are pressing the U.S. and other countries to ramp up their F-16 pilot training, saying the current pipeline isn’t producing enough aviators to fly the jets that will be soon donated to Kyiv.
Ukraine says it has 30 pilots who are eligible to start training in the U.S. immediately. Yet the Biden administration has told Kyiv it lacks the school seats in its Arizona-based program to accept more than 12 pilot trainees at a time, according to three people with direct knowledge of the request. Two other facilities in Denmark and Romania have a similar issue with available training spots.
It’s the latest hurdle in the drawn-out effort to get modern F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Kyiv began pushing for the aircraft in the months following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, but was repeatedly rebuffed by the Biden administration. In May 2023, President Joe Biden greenlit other countries’ requests to send their F-16s, but logistical challenges repeatedly delayed the training. Further complicating the effort, it took months for Western countries to agree to send their own aircraft to Ukraine.
Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium plan to ship more than 60 U.S.-made F-16 jets to Kyiv this summer. Ukrainians argue that the ability to fly more F-16s will help Kyiv push back Russian forces from the frontlines in places such as Kharkiv, where Moscow has advanced in recent weeks. Yet the U.S. has said it does not expect the jets to be a game-changer on the battlefield.
乌克兰官员正在敦促美国和其他国家加强 F-16 飞行员培训，称目前管道无法培养足够飞行员来驾驶即将捐赠给基辅的飞机。 乌克兰表示，乌克兰有30名飞行员有资格立即在美国开始训练。然而，据三名直接了解这一要求的人士透露，拜登政府已告诉基辅，其亚利桑那州项目的学校席位不足，无法一次接受超过 12 名飞行学员。丹麦和罗马尼亚的另外两处设施在可用培训名额方面也存在类似问题。 这是向乌克兰提供现代 F-16 战机长期努力中的最新障碍。基辅在 2022 年 2 月俄罗斯全面入侵后几个月内开始推动获得战机，但多次遭到拜登政府的拒绝。 2023 年 5 月，乔·拜登总统批准了其他国家提供 F-16 的请求，但后勤方面的挑战一再推迟了训练。让这一努力变得更加复杂的是，西方国家花了几个月时间才同意向乌克兰提供自己战机。 丹麦、挪威、荷兰和比利时计划今年夏天向基辅运送 60 多架美国制造的 F-16 喷气式战机。乌克兰人认为，拥有更多F-16战机的能力将有助于基辅将俄罗斯军队从哈尔科夫等前线击退，莫斯科最近几周已经在这些地区取得了进展。然而美国表示，美国表并不指望这些喷气式飞机能够改变战场的游戏规则。
