Several Ukrainian pilots to receive F-16 training in US
Beginning in October, the U.S. will provide F-16 training to a small number of Ukrainian pilots and maintenance teams, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday.
Ryder said "several" pilots and "dozens" of aircraft maintenance personnel will begin training at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona, after they receive English training in September at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas. The number of pilots and personnel will be determined by Ukraine.
"Although some Ukrainian pilots have English language skills we are anticipating that all the pilots coming to the United States will require some level of additional English language instruction, given the complexities and the specialized English that's required to fly these aircraft," said Ryder.
Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon's deputy press secretary, told reporters earlier this week that the U.S. was open to the idea of training on F-16's if European countries reached capacity though she couldn't define what numbers would constitute capacity. Ryder on Thursday also wouldn't provide a number and said the U.S. wasn't going to wait for the Netherlands and Denmark to reach capacity.
"We know that as the Danes and the Dutch prepare to train those pilots that at a certain point in time in the future, capacity will be reached. So preemptively acknowledging that and leaning forward in order to to assist with this effort is the impetus for why we're doing this now," said Ryder.
Ryder wouldn't get into when F-16 deliveries to Ukraine might begin. Denmark's Prime Minister said over the weekend that the first Danish F-16's could arrive by New Year's.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez