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Pentagon: Training Ukrainian pilots for F16 jets is priority for us

27 September 2024 23:20 (UTC +04:00)

Training Ukrainian pilots for F16 jets is priority for us, said Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh in a press briefing, APA reports.

"In terms of the announcement on where they'll be trained, you know, I just don't have that for you right now. We continue to train Ukrainian pilots that either come to the United States or through the Air Mobility Coalition with our partners in different parts of the world.

As you know, these pilots have to meet certain metrics which include, you know, being proficient in English language, so. We're continuing to work with the Ukrainians. This is something that we know is a priority for them. It's a priority for us.

And we're continuing to work with them to make sure that their pilots get the training that they need so that when they return to Ukraine, they can be as effective as needed on the battlefield," said Singh in a question "The US announced this week that the US will help train 18 Ukrainian F-16 pilots next year. Can you provide a little more fidelity on that announcement? Will these 18 pilots all be trained in Arizona? And relatedly, the DOD previously said it planned to train 12 Ukrainian F-16 pilots in fiscal 2024. We're now just a couple days out from the end of that, so has the US met that previously announced goal of training 12 F-16 pilots in the US this fiscal year?"