The US has invited Ukrainian pilots to a military base in Tucson, Arizona to establish how long it’ll take to train them to fly Western fighter jets, including F-16s, unnamed officials told NBC.
Two airmen from Ukraine have arrived on American soil so far, with more likely to join them soon, the broadcaster reported on Saturday. According to its sources, the US authorities plan to bring as many as ten Ukrainian aviators to the country this month.
The pilots have been working on simulators and there are no plans for them to fly actual aircraft, the officials noted.
The program has two goals: improving the Ukrainians’ skills and assessing how long it will take to train them to effectively operate F-16s and other Western-made warplanes, they added.
“The program is about assessing their abilities as pilots so we can better advise them on how to use capabilities they have and we have given them,” a Biden administration official explained.