Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder announced yesterday that the U.S. will begin training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s in October, following English-language training in September. The F-16 training will be provided at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona, facilitated by the Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing, which is the center where foreign pilots and technicians are trained on the F-16. “Although we do not have specific numbers to share at this time in regards to how many Ukrainians will participate in this training, we do anticipate it will include several pilots and dozens of maintainers,” Ryder said. “The training provided by the United States will complement the F-16 pilot and maintenance training that’s already underway in Europe and further deepens our support for the F-16 Training Coalition led by Denmark and the Netherlands.”
Reuters, in a wire posted by TVPWorld yesterday, reported that Norway has decided to donate some F-16s to Ukraine. “We are planning to donate Norwegian F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, and will provide further details about the donation, numbers and time frame for delivery, in due course,” Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in a statement. Støre met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv earlier on Aug. 24 and announced donations of anti-aircraft missiles and other equipment. “The donation of these F-16 jets will significantly strengthen Ukraine’s military capabilities,” Norway’s Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said in the statement.
