Ukraine's Minister of Defense: Coalition for training pilots on F-16 formed, 11 states join
Ukraine's Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov
The coalition for training Ukrainian F-16 pilots is officially formed today. It will include 11 countries, according to Ukraine's Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov.
"It’s official: a coalition for F-16 training of the Ukrainian Air Force has been formed! Today, 11 partner states + Ukraine signed a Memorandum outlining the terms," he wrote on Twitter.
Reznikov expressed special gratitude to Denmark and the Netherlands for their outstanding leadership in this process.
What it will include:
- Ukrainian pilots, technicians, and support staff will participate in a training program;
- there is the possibility of including other types of fighter aircraft in the program;
- the coalition is ready to consider other means of granting to Ukraine fully functional F-16 capabilities.
Who joined the coalition
Reznikov thanked colleagues from Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
"The F-16s will defend the skies of Ukraine and the eastern flank of NATO. The Ukrainian Air Force is ready to master them in the shortest possible time. Ukraine will prevail," added the Minister of Defense.
F-16 for Ukraine
Western allies announced the creation of an aircraft coalition to provide Ukraine with modern fighters, including F-16s. The coalition is led by the Netherlands and Denmark.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy hoped that the training of Ukrainians on the F-16 would begin in August, and Ukraine would be able to receive the aircraft in six to seven months. However, he recently announced that some countries are delaying the training schedules for Ukrainian pilots.
