Democrats in the House of Representatives support Kyiv's appeal to train ten more Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighters.
Party members led by Adam Schiff in a new letter ask US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to implement this request.
In this letter, American lawmakers explain that training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 could significantly influence the outcome of the war.
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—By the end of the year, Ukraine will have more F-16 aircraft than qualified pilots to fly them, a situation that threatens to undermine the strategic advantages these aircraft could provide to Ukraine, & ;#8212; The signatories explained their position in the House of Representatives.
Training of Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 — what problems
Last year, President Joe Biden approved the transfer of American fighter jets from Norway, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands to Kyiv, but the pilot training process faced logistical difficulties.
Ukraine then announced that it had 30 pilots who were eligible to immediately begin training in the United States.
However, Washington indicated that the Arizona training program does not have enough space to accommodate more than 12 trainee pilots at a time.
