Britain to train Ukraine combat fighter pilots

LONDON — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has committed to training Ukrainian combat jet pilots, according to a statement made ahead of a Feb. 8 visit to London by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Sunak also offered to bolster other initiatives, including training Ukrainian marines and supplying unspecified longer-range weapons. The deal could also be expanded to include military helicopter pilots, according to recent testimony given to lawmakers.

Zelenskyy and senior officials are meeting in London for a round of engagements with their British counterparts. The Ukrainian president will address Parliament and meet King Charles III; this will be Zelenskyy’s second foreign trip since Russia invaded his country on Feb. 24, 2022.

The leaders will discuss a two-pronged approach to U.K. support for Ukraine, starting with an immediate surge of military equipment to the country to help counter what observers expect to be a fresh Russian offensive in the spring , according to the statement, which also mentioned the reinforcement of long-term support.

Britain and some of its allies have so far declined Ukraine’s requests for modern fighter aircraft , but the statement said the upcoming training “will ensure pilots are able to fly sophisticated NATO-standard fighter jets in the future.”

No details of the pilot training are available, but it’s likely the move would see Ukrainians fly Royal Air Force Hawk jet trainers and Typhoon multirole combat jets, even though Britain would have little in the way of spare training capacity and spare combat jets should they be required for a conflict or crisis.

The Royal Air Force is already training Ukrainian Air Force personnel in niche areas, and the latest pilot training offer could get extended to include helicopter crew.

Speaking to the parliamentary Defence Committee last week, Air Marshal Richard Knighton, the deputy chief of capability at Air Command, said an offer of training to Ukraine was under discussion.

“We have an offer on the table to train helicopter pilots at our school in Shawbury. We have not signed the final deal yet, but we are content to do that,” Knighton said Feb 1.

The pilot offer is part of a wider British initiative to upskill Ukraine’s military. Britain and some of its allies have already trained about 10,000 Ukrainian troops in the U.K. in the last few months, with plans for a further 20,000 soldiers to learn battlefield skills this year, the British government has said.

Ukrainian troops already started arriving in the U.K. to learn how to operate the 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks pledged to the country , and Sunak plans to offer longer-range capabilities, the statement said.

“I am proud that today we will expand that training from soldiers to marines and fighter jet pilots, ensuring Ukraine has a military able to defend its interests well into the future. It underlines our commitment to not just provide military equipment for the short term, but a long-term pledge to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine for years to come,” Sunak said.

Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.

伦敦——英国首相里希·苏纳克承诺将培训乌克兰战斗机飞行员。这一消息是在乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基2月8日访问伦敦之前发表的。

苏纳克还提出加强其他合作项目，包括训练乌克兰海军陆战队员和提供未指明的远程武器。根据最近向议员们提供的证词，该协议还可能扩大到包括军用直升机飞行员。

泽连斯基及其高级官员正在伦敦与英国同行举行一系列会晤。这位乌克兰总统将向英国议会发表讲话，并会见查理三世国王；这将是自2022年2月24日俄罗斯入侵乌克兰以来，泽连斯基的第二次出访。

声明称，两国领导人将讨论英国对乌克兰的双管齐下支持方案，首先是立即向乌克兰增派军事装备，以帮助应对观察人士预计俄罗斯将在春季发动的新一轮攻势，声明还提到要加强长期支持。

英国及其一些盟友迄今为止拒绝了乌克兰对现代化战斗机的请求，但声明称，即将进行的训练“将确保飞行员将来能够驾驶先进的北约标准战斗机”。

目前尚无飞行员训练的具体细节，但此举很可能会让乌克兰飞行员驾驶英国皇家空军的鹰式喷气教练机和台风多用途战斗机，尽管如果发生冲突或危机，英国几乎没有多余的训练能力和战斗机。

英国皇家空军已经在特定领域对乌克兰空军人员进行培训，最新的飞行员培训计划可能会扩展到包括直升机机组人员。

上周，空军司令部能力副主管理查德·奈顿空军元帅在议会国防委员会作证时表示，正在讨论向乌克兰提供培训的提议。

“我们已经收到一份邀请，将在我们位于肖伯里的学校培训直升机飞行员。我们还没有签署最终协议，但我们很乐意这样做，”奈顿在2月1日表示。

这项试点计划是英国提升乌克兰军队技能的更广泛计划的一部分。英国政府表示，过去几个月，英国及其一些盟友已在英国培训了约1万名乌克兰士兵，并计划今年再培训2万名士兵学习战场技能。

声明称，乌克兰军队已经开始抵达英国，学习如何操作承诺提供给该国的 14 辆挑战者 2 型主战坦克，苏纳克计划提供远程作战能力。

“我感到自豪的是，今天我们将把训练范围从士兵扩大到海军陆战队员和战斗机飞行员，确保乌克兰拥有一支能够捍卫其未来利益的军队。这凸显了我们不仅致力于短期内提供军事装备，更承诺在未来多年与乌克兰并肩作战，”苏纳克说。

Andrew Chuter 是《防务新闻》的英国记者。