What affects pace of F-16 deliveries to Ukraine: Expert explanation

As Kryvolap recalled, Western partners have trained two groups of Ukrainian pilots: one group consisted of 12 individuals, while the other had 8. After the death of Oleksii Mes, there are 19 pilots remaining. These pilots can service 12 aircraft in a depleted capacity.

"The issue is the number of pilots, but even more significant is the type of armament being provided. Because even if we currently have 40 aircraft, if the armaments remain the same as they are now, we will have 5 museum exhibits instead of 40 exhibits. What difference does it make? We’ll just be spending more money to dust them off," he explained.

Training of 200 pilots

Recently, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard, announced that Britain has already trained 200 pilots. Commenting on this, Kryvolap noted that this figure likely includes not only pilots but also technical specialists in logistics, flight organization, air traffic controllers, and others.

"The ratio might look something like this: if we have three groups of 60-70 people, that seems plausible, with 8-10 pilots in each group. If an additional 30 pilots emerge after this, it would significantly strengthen the 20 pilots currently available... So, with about 30 aircraft, this number of pilots could operate under military conditions," he added.

F-16 for Ukraine

Ukraine received its first F-16 fighter jets from Western partners in late July. Initially, this information was spread by Western media, and a few days later, it was confirmed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The exact number of aircraft transferred is still unknown; however, it is known that the F-16s have already been used to defend Ukrainian airspace during massive attacks from Russia. During one of these assaults, one of the aircraft crashed.

Ukraine is expected to receive a second batch of F-16s from Norway soon.