Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles “K” Brown said Ukraine could turn to NATO allies with experience transitioning from Soviet-era aircraft to Western systems.
The United States and their allies are beginning to consider the possibility training of Ukrainian pilots as part of a long-term effort to potentially help Kyiv build a Ukrainian air force in the future, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles “K” Brown told Reuters.
With the West providing anti-aircraft weaponry, Ukraine managed to prevent Russia from using its far more advanced anti-aircraft power to establish air dominance after Moscow’s February 24 invasion began.
But Ukraine has also sought to distance itself from its reliance on Russian jets by securing fighter jets from the US and training for its pilots to fly them. Ukraine’s air force has publicly conveyed its hopes of acquiring F-15s and F-16s.
THE Brownwho made the remarks during a flight to Aspen, Colorado for a security forum, acknowledged that talks are underway within the US military and its allies.
“You want to work out a long-term plan for how they build their air power and the civil aviation they’ll need for the future,” said Brown, who is a pilot himself, without confirming any future decisions.
A few days ago, lawmakers in the House of Representatives advanced a measure that, if it clears other hurdles, would approve a $100 million fund to train Ukrainian pilots and maintainers on US fighter jets.
Brown did not comment on the bill. He also declined to speculate on timelines or what kind of Western aircraft might be best suited for Ukraine.
But he emphasized that the training of future Ukrainian pilots is a complex issuewhich requires taking into account the phase of the war and Kiev’s ability to take pilots away from combat to undergo lengthy training.
“How can we make that transition from where we are today to where we want to be in the future? So that people can go away to be trained,” he said.
Asked how long it might take a Ukrainian pilot to learn to fly US fighter jets, Brown noted that training an American pilot on a new type of aircraft could be a matter of perhaps two to four months. The transition from a Soviet system will be “a little more difficult,” he said.
Brown said that Ukraine could turn to NATO allies with experience transitioning from Soviet-era aircraft to Western systems.
“I feel pretty confident that there are some of our NATO partners who have done that, they may actually have learned lessons that might be useful to the Ukrainians to help them see how to best make this transition,” Brown said.
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