https://www.kyivpost.com/post/34641
With Ukraine desperate to shore up its air defense and counter Russia’s advantage in the sky’s, US government has been disappointingly reluctant to offer Kyiv air capabilities.
Significant movements occurred over the past few weeks regarding Ukraine’s future western fighter capability. From the first F-16 pilots graduating to President Zelensky announcing a French Mirage 2000 deal, then the US refused training for 30 Ukraine pilots. And now, there are indications the US is quashing other options for pilots.
From a well-placed, unnamed US government source, Ukraine does in fact have 30 pilots qualified to enter the US F-16 training pipeline as reported earlier this week from Ukraine. With the recent graduation of F-16 pilots from the US and those from training sites in Europe, Ukraine is likely to have between 15 and 20 pilots, for 60 airframes. That is a horrible aircrew to aircraft ratio.
Arizona National Guard’s Public Affairs Officer, Maj. Erin Hannigan, shared that the 162nd Wing in Tucson is the primary training pipeline for foreign F-16 pilots. She also clarified that the unit trains 30 pilots annually, based on funding allocated from the Secretary of the Air Force’s International Affairs division. When asked if the 162nd could surge training efforts, Maj. Hannigan stated the 162nd has no surge capacity. Hence, even if the 162nd prioritized Ukrainian pilots over those that have already been slated for training, they might be able to train 15 more this year.
乌克兰迫切希望加强其防空能力并对抗俄罗斯的空中优势，令人失望的是，美国政府一直不愿向基辅提供空中能力。
过去几周，乌克兰未来的西方战机能力发生了重大变化。 从第一批 F-16 飞行员毕业到泽连斯基总统宣布与法国幻影 2000 交易，再到美国拒绝培训 30 名乌克兰飞行员。 现在，有迹象表明美国正在取消飞行员的其他选择。
据一位不愿透露姓名的美国政府消息人士透露，正如本周早些时候乌克兰报道的那样，乌克兰实际上有 30 名飞行员有资格进入美国 F-16 训练渠道。 随着美国和欧洲培训基地的 F-16 飞行员最近毕业，乌克兰可能会拥有 15 至 20 名飞行员，驾驶 60 架战机。 这是一个可怕的机组人员与战机的比例。
亚利桑那州国民警卫队公共事务官员艾琳·汉尼根 (Erin Hannigan) 少校表示，位于图森的第 162 联队是外国 F-16 飞行员的主要培训渠道。 她还澄清说，该部队每年培训 30 名飞行员，资金由空军国际事务部部长分配。 当被问及第 162 中队是否可以加大训练力度时，汉尼根少校表示，第 162 中队没有增加能力。 因此，即使第 162 培训团优先考虑乌克兰飞行员而不是那些已经计划接受培训的飞行员，他们今年也可能能够再培训 15 名飞行员。
