According to Greek media, the first foreign instructor on the operational use of F-16 fighter jets has already arrived in Ukraine.
The foreign instructor is a flight officer of the Greek Air Force. As reported by Defencepoint.gr.
”The Greek Air Force has gained vast experience and expertise in the operational use of the fighter in air-to-air missions, especially in close air combat,” the Greek publication reported.
On 21 August 2023, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while visiting Athens after his meeting with the Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis, announced the accession of Greece to the coalition: “Today we have an important result for the air coalition: Greece will participate in the training of our F-16 pilots,” Zelenskyy stated.
F-16 coalition for Ukraine
Journalists assume that the arrival of the Greek pilot in the Ukrainian capital is part of the F-16 Training Coalition initiative, an international coalition established on July 13, 2023, at the NATO summit in Vilnius to train Ukrainian pilots and technical personnel to operate this type of fighter aircraft.
Last fall, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands committed to supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets starting in 2025. Currently, the total number of pledged F-16s is about 80. Kyiv has been urgently requesting more advanced jets to strengthen its air force against Russia’s larger and more technologically advanced fleet.
At the same time, some Ukrainian allies, including the US, impose restrictions on the weapons they supply, stipulating that they must only be used within Ukraine and not for targeting Russian territory.
Read more:
- Dutch endorse Ukraine using F-16s in Russian airspace for self-protection
- BBC: Ukraine can now target military airfields in Russia with Storm Shadow cruise missiles
- Denmark allows Ukraine to use F-16s against military targets within Russia, dismisses Russian threats
- Ten Ukrainian soldiers complete F-16 maintenance training in the Netherlands
- Shmyhal: Kyiv expects to receive first F-16s this summer