https://www.yahoo.com/news/ukrainian-pil...17451.html
This is where the real training will occur. The training that can take place in Europe was of limited scope even when F-16s were the first-line fighters of their air forces. The F-16s are being/have been phased out in the EU countries doing the training. Their training naturally was downsized even before that. Even when it was going "full blast", lots of EU F-16 pilots were trained at least partially in the US. As I have been saying literally for years, this current training should have been started in May of 2022, not October of 2023. Even if the US had not ever decided to send F-16s to Ukraine, 100 or so already trained pilots would have made such an action possible much sooner. The cost of training is nugatory compared to all the other costs involved. Now that we have decided to act, the effects will be long delayed and arrive in dribs and drabs, rather much more effective unitary fighting force. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Let's just hope the arrangements are being made to marry the pilots with their planes and ordinance BEFORE they go to Ukraine to fight. A slow ramp up will get people killed and give Russia time to adjust. The task the Ukrainian F-16 squadrons have ahead of them is hard enough without giving the Russians waning and time to figure out how to deal with the threat. Ukraine needs enough HARMs that the F-16 can use them at will. We certainly did in Iraq. Most of the missiles didn't hit anything, but it did force the Iraqis to shut down. Ukraine also needs jamming pods. I doubt we will give them the "latest and greatest", but they need something. Obviously they also need AMRAAMs and Sidewinders.
This is where the real training will occur. The training that can take place in Europe was of limited scope even when F-16s were the first-line fighters of their air forces. The F-16s are being/have been phased out in the EU countries doing the training. Their training naturally was downsized even before that. Even when it was going "full blast", lots of EU F-16 pilots were trained at least partially in the US. As I have been saying literally for years, this current training should have been started in May of 2022, not October of 2023. Even if the US had not ever decided to send F-16s to Ukraine, 100 or so already trained pilots would have made such an action possible much sooner. The cost of training is nugatory compared to all the other costs involved. Now that we have decided to act, the effects will be long delayed and arrive in dribs and drabs, rather much more effective unitary fighting force. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Let's just hope the arrangements are being made to marry the pilots with their planes and ordinance BEFORE they go to Ukraine to fight. A slow ramp up will get people killed and give Russia time to adjust. The task the Ukrainian F-16 squadrons have ahead of them is hard enough without giving the Russians waning and time to figure out how to deal with the threat. Ukraine needs enough HARMs that the F-16 can use them at will. We certainly did in Iraq. Most of the missiles didn't hit anything, but it did force the Iraqis to shut down. Ukraine also needs jamming pods. I doubt we will give them the "latest and greatest", but they need something. Obviously they also need AMRAAMs and Sidewinders.