Partners promise Ukraine more F-16s than pilots trained
Photo: Partners promised Ukraine more F-16s than they have trained pilots (Getty Images)
Ukraine's partners have promised to provide more F-16 aircraft than there are trained pilots, according to the head of the Servant of the People faction and member of the National Security, Defense, and Intelligence Committee, David Arakhamia.
Arakhamia explained that Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, and other allies have already promised twice as many aircraft as Ukraine has trained pilots and engineers to service Western aviation.
Commenting on the relatively slow pace of aircraft deliveries, Arakhamia emphasized that this should be understood as it is still a record time. In peacetime, aircraft delivery timelines always take five to six years, whereas for Ukraine, it is about one year.
“Now the number of planes promised to us... is already twice as high as the number of trained pilots and engineers who can service them. So, our bottleneck now is not the aircraft but the people," Arakhamia said.
He noted that the Ukrainian delegation in the United States tried to "move the queue" of other countries from the training grounds where pilots are trained
F-16 for Ukraine
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced at the NATO summit the beginning of the transfer of F-16 fighters to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans stated today that Ukraine would receive F-16 fighters in the near future
