Pitfalls remain with giving Ukraine modern fighter jets
Fast-tracking pilots training would mean they could fly new jets in six weeks (Photo: USAF/Senior Airman Noah Sudolcan)
It seems appealing to fast-track pilot training by conducting most flights on simulators and omitting certain procedures if the West were to give more modern aircraft for Ukraine’s air force, but it might prove challenging in practice.
While there are no definite plans for NATO allies to send fighter jets to Ukraine, speculation continues as to how Ukrainian Air Force pilots could be trained swiftly if they were to receive F-16s or Typhoons.
The US claimed that it managed to turn 155mm howitzer trainees into instructors rapidly and needed only to pull away a minimal amount of soldiers from the battlefield, but it could hardly do the same with advanced multirole fighter aircraft.
Conversion to a new aircraft usually takes about six months for limited combat readiness. Some veteran pilots claim that, if operational reasons demanded, an experienced
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