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First group of pilots to depart for training before the end of summer - Ukraine's AFC

18 July 2023 15:37 (UTC +04:00)

The departure of the first group of Ukrainian pilots for training on F-16 fighters is expected by the end of summer, said the spokesman of Ukraine's Air Force Command, Yuriy Ignat at a briefing, APA reports citing Ukrinform.

"We hope that in a few weeks (Ukrainian pilots' F-16 training to start - ed.), as Jake Sullivan (National Security Advisor to the US President - ed.) said, by the end of the summer, our pilots will leave for studies and return soon," Ignat noted.

According to him, this will be a group of pilots who will train specifically on the F-16.

In addition, he noted, there will be groups of pilots who will undergo basic training: ground training with the transition to practical flights on various aircraft, including fighter jets.

"All this will take place in different countries, because there is no capacity for rapid training of such a large number of people in one country. Therefore, we must understand that the "aviation coalition" was created for a reason. Someone helps with planes, someone - by training pilots, someone - by training combat engineers, etc. ", Ignat explained.

At the NATO summit in Lithuania, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov signed a memorandum with 11 member countries of the coalition, which defines the conditions for training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.