The United Kingdom has reached a significant milestone in its support for Ukraine’s Air Force capabilities, having trained 200 Ukrainian pilots through its Royal Air Force elementary flying program, UK Minister for the Armed Forces Luke Pollard MP announced on 22 October, adding that “These pilots will soon be flying Ukrainian F-16s.”
The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) reports that the latest graduation ceremony was attended by UK Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard and Ukrainian Ambassador to the, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi at RAF Cranwell.
The program’s graduates will proceed to advanced “fast jet training and F-16 conversion with partner nations,” RAF says. Previous graduates from the British program continued their training on Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet trainer aircraft in France.
Did you know the UK has now trained 200 Ukrainian pilots?
Today I attended the graduation of the latest pilots from the RAF’s training programme. These pilots will soon be flying Ukrainian F-16s.
Britain will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes ???????????????? https://t.co/wbsdmXfARF
— Luke Pollard MP (@LukePollard) October 22, 2024
Ukrainian Ambassador Valerii Zaluzhnyi wrote on Telegram:
“I want to thank the British government and people once again for their constant support of Ukraine. It is thanks to this support that we continue to fight. Thanks to Great Britain, we have a chance for Victory.”
The Ukrainian Air Force selected the US-made F-16 fighter jet as its primary combat aircraft, set to gradually replace the aging fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29s. However, Ukraine will also receive a limited number of France’s Mirage 2000-5 jets, and has been in talks on the transfer of Eurofighter and Sweden’s Gripen fighters.
Ukraine urgently needs additional trained pilots, F-16s and other jets to repel Russian bombers and fighters near the front lines and bolster its air defenses, which are struggling under against Russian aerial assaults.
Related:
- Greece pledges additional resources for Ukrainian F-16 pilot and technician training
- La Tribune: France to deliver three Mirage 2000-5 fighters to Ukraine in early 2025
- First group of Ukrainian pilots completes Alphajet aircraft training in France
- WSJ: Ukraine’s F-16 squadron faces extended timeline as US trains younger pilots
- Ukrainian pilots undergo six-month basic training in France before advancing to F-16
- Russian source claims Ukrainian F-16’s first shootdown of Russian manned aircraft, Su-34 bomber
- Ukraine receives initial batch of Dutch F-16s, more to follow in coming months
- Former commander-in-chief Zaluzhnyi appointed as Ukrainian ambassador to UK