The first wave of Ukrainian aviators, consisting of 70 people, is currently undergoing training in Denmark. Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat shared this information during a telethon on 21 August.
He noted that this group includes not only pilots, but also flight support and maintenance specialists who form a huge team.
"Not all of those 70 are pilots, aviation is a huge team. There are those who perform the flights and those who support them. This is a very large army of people, we call them aviators. And it is clear that they also need to learn how to maintain equipment and provide flight support," he said.
Ihnat said that this wave of aviators is being retrained to operate F-16 fighters, and this is just the beginning of the process. The second and third waves are expected in the future. Another group of young graduate pilots will travel to the UK to train on the F-16 under a longer programme.
"They will undergo basic training - English, light-engine western equipment, and then move on to fighter jets. This programme will last longer, perhaps up to two years, but this is the future that awaits us - we are re-equipping our Air Force with new types of equipment. That is why pilot training at the Kharkiv Air Force University will also be focused on this," the speaker stressed.
It is important to note that yesterday the Netherlands announced the provision of 42 F-16 fighters to Ukraine. For its part, Denmark will provide 19 aircraft, including six by the end of this year.
