US To Start Training Ukrainian Pilots To Drive F-16s In October

Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told a news conference that the Ukrainian pilots will first receive English classes in September , necessary to fly those planes, and the following month they will begin training at the Morris National Guard base in Tucson (Arizona, USA).

Ryder avoided specifying the number of Ukrainian soldiers who will receive this training, although he anticipated that it will be "several pilots and dozens of training workers."

The English classes will be received at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio (Texas), before moving to Tucson for flight instruction.

He recalled that Denmark and the Netherlands have confirmed that they will deliver F-16s to Ukraine, and that the US maintains "close" contact with those countries and with other allies to ensure that US training complements the efforts of other partners in the coalition supporting Kiev.

The United States has given assurances to Denmark and the Netherlands that it will expedite the necessary approvals to ensure the shipment of F-16 fighters to Ukraine once the training led by both countries is completed.

In July, the Danish Defense Minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, assured that the coalition of eleven allied countries that will participate in the training of Ukrainian pilots to handle the F-16s would begin their military training in August.

The Netherlands, for its part, confirmed that the training center will be installed in Romania.