F-16 fighter jet. Photo: Getty Images
Ukrainian pilots arrived in Romania to train on F-16 fighter jets “a few days ago” and have already begun practice.
Source: European Pravda, citing the Romanian TV channel Digi24
Details: Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umierov announced the start of training for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in Romania after a conversation with his Romanian counterpart Angel Tîlvăr.
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As Digi24 noted, this will be the first time that Ukrainians will learn to operate Western fighters in Romania.
The TV channel reports that the group of pilots arrived ‘just a few days ago’ and has already begun training at the Borcea airbase in Călărași county. This is not the training centre opened in November 2023, where Romanian pilots were receiving training.
It is assumed that Ukrainians will begin flight training in October.
Digi24 notes that the pilots from Ukraine will be piloting F-16 training jets provided to Romania by the Netherlands. This should ease concerns over Russia’s threats to destroy NATO aircraft flying to Ukraine.
“On average, pilot training on F-16s takes six months, so we expect the pilots who have recently arrived in Romania to return to Ukraine early next year,” Digi24 wrote.
So far, there have been no reports of Ukrainians training at the centre. Indeed, last month Romania officially denied that such training was taking place.
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