Ukraine could be flying F-16s early in 2024, Air Guard chief says

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (AP) — The U.S. could have the first Ukrainian pilots trained on F-16 fighter jets before the end of the year, though it will be longer than that before they are flying combat missions, the director of the U.S. Air National Guard said Tuesday.

The Ukrainian pilots are expected to arrive at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona, by October. Those aviators are being evaluated for English language skills right now, and depending on their proficiency and previous fighter jet experience, they could complete the U.S. training within three months, Lt. Gen. Michael Loh, director of the U.S. Air National Guard, said at the annual Air Force Association convention in National Harbor, Maryland.

“As soon as they’re given a go-ahead, they’ll be coming over and they’ll start their training immediately,” Loh said.

To meet the quick training timeframe, Tucson will likely shift some of its other international pilot training commitments to move Ukraine to the front of the line, he said.

“It’s a national priority,” Loh said.

However, after completing the U.S. training, the Ukrainians would need to return to Europe for additional NATO training. NATO allies are also training Ukrainians on how to maintain the aircraft, and that will also need to be completed before the jets would be flying combat missions. Loh did not have an estimate of how much time the additional training would take.

Gen. David Allvin, the nominee to become the next chief of the Air Force, told senators at his confirmation hearing Tuesday that, on average, the F-16 training will take six to nine months.

Ukraine’s leaders have asked for fighter jets from the West since the earliest days of the war. For the first year and a half, the U.S. and other allied partners focused on providing other weapons systems, citing the jets’ cost, concerns about further provoking Russia, the number of deadly air defense systems Russia had covering Ukrainian airspace and the difficulty in maintaining the jets.

Since then the war has become a gruesome, slow-moving fight with ground tactics and trench warfare reminiscent of World War I, and for that, the F-16′s ability to suppress enemy air defenses and conduct low-altitude attacks could help Ukraine, Loh said. In addition, unlike some other systems pledged to Ukraine, the F-16 is still in production, and because it is widely used by a number of international partners, there are plenty of spare parts.

“I definitely think it can be a game changer,” Loh said.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked Allvin if the training could be accelerated, noting that the Ukrainian forces learned how to operate other systems, such as the Stryker and Bradley fighting vehicles, faster than anticipated.

“I can assure you that if the folks in Tucson see the advancement, they will not hold them back,” Allvin, who is currently the vice chief of the Air Force, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “They will train them to the level of their competency, and if that takes less time, then all the better.”

Ukraine is seeking up to 50 F-16 fighter jets, or the equivalent of three fighter squadrons from coalition nations; in August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was set to receive 42 of the jets.

Loh said the Air National Guard assessed the three-month timeline based on training Ukrainian pilots received on Fresno, California-based F-15Cs, another advanced Air National Guard fighter jet. That exposure allowed the Air National Guard to assess that Ukraine’s aviators were already using more Western tactics in flying and that it would not take long to bring them up to speed, he said.

The nine-month timeframe is the estimate to get pilots with no previous fighter jet experience flying the F-16s, Loh said.

马里兰州国家港（美联社）——美国空军国民警卫队司令周二表示，美国最早可能在今年年底前完成对乌克兰飞行员的F-16战斗机训练，但距离他们执行作战任务还需要更长时间。

预计乌克兰飞行员将于10月抵达位于亚利桑那州图森市的莫里斯空军国民警卫队基地。美国空军国民警卫队司令迈克尔·洛中将在马里兰州国家港举行的空军协会年会上表示，这些飞行员​​目前正在接受英语语言能力评估，根据他们的英语水平和以往的战斗机飞行经验，他们有望在三个月内完成美国的训练。

“一旦获得许可，他们就会过来，并立即开始训练，”罗说。

他表示，为了满足快速培训时间要求，图森可能会调整其其他一些国际飞行员培训承诺，以便将乌克兰的培训放在首位。

“这是国家优先事项，”罗说。

然而，完成美国方面的训练后，乌克兰飞行员还需要返回欧洲接受北约的进一步训练。北约盟国也在对乌克兰飞行员进行飞机维护方面的培训，这些培训也必须在战机执行作战任务之前完成。洛赫没有估计这些额外培训需要多长时间。

被提名为下一任空军司令的戴维·奥尔文将军周二在确认听证会上告​​诉参议员，F-16 的训练平均需要六到九个月。

自战争初期，乌克兰领导人就一直向西方请求提供战斗机。在战争爆发后的头一年半里，美国和其他盟国主要提供其他武器系统，理由包括战斗机成本高昂、担心进一步激怒俄罗斯、俄罗斯在乌克兰领空部署了大量致命的防空系统以及维护战斗机的难度。

此后，战争演变成一场残酷而缓慢的战斗，地面战术和堑壕战让人想起第一次世界大战。洛赫表示，在这种情况下，F-16压制敌方防空系统和进行低空攻击的能力将对乌克兰有所帮助。此外，与承诺提供给乌克兰的其他一些系统不同，F-16仍在生产，并且由于许多国际伙伴广泛使用它，因此备件充足。

“我绝对认为这会改变游戏规则，”罗说道。

康涅狄格州民主党参议员理查德·布卢门撒尔询问奥尔文，训练是否可以加快，并指出乌克兰军队学习操作其他系统（如斯特瑞克和布雷德利战车）的速度比预期的要快。

“我可以向你们保证，如果图森方面看到这些进步，他们绝不会阻挠他们，”现任空军副参谋长的奥尔文在参议院军事委员会作证时说。“他们会根据他们的能力水平进行培训，如果这能节省时间，那就更好了。”

乌克兰正在寻求从盟国获得多达 50 架 F-16 战斗机，相当于三个战斗机中队；今年 8 月，乌克兰总统泽连斯基表示，基辅将接收 42 架战斗机。

洛赫表示，空中国民警卫队根据乌克兰飞行员在加州弗雷斯诺基地接受的F-15C战斗机（另一种先进的空中国民警卫队战斗机）训练情况，评估了三个月的训练时间表。他说，这种训练经历使空中国民警卫队能够评估出，乌克兰飞行员在飞行中已经更多地采用了西方战术，因此很快就能让他们跟上进度。

罗表示，预计需要九个月的时间才能让没有战斗机驾驶经验的飞行员驾驶 F-16 战斗机。