UK to offer to train Ukrainian fighter pilots, will ‘look’ at potential jet transfers

BELFAST — UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has formally requested British Secretary of Defence Ben Wallace look into which RAF combat jets could be supplied to the Ukraine Air Force, following an announcement that London will offer to train Ukrainian fighter pilots for the first time.

The move to transfer fighter jets did not appear imminent, however, as Sunak said it’s intended to serve as a “long-term solution rather than a short-term capability.” But it could mark a pivotal moment in the fight against Russia by kick-starting deliveries of highly capable, Western-made aircraft.

In a statement from Sunak’s office, released ahead of a visit to the UK today by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, London said that as part of talks between the two leaders, Sunak “will offer to bolster the UK’s training offer for Ukrainian troops, including expanding it to fighter jet pilots to ensure Ukraine can defend its skies well into the future.”

The Ukraine Air Force currently operates Su-24, Su-25 and MiG-29 Soviet-era fighter jets, but Zelenskyy has long called on equipment supply partners to gift F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv, an aircraft type that the Royal Air Force (RAF) does not operate, and one which the US has so far declined to provide.

“The training will ensure pilots are able to fly sophisticated NATO-standard fighter jets in the future,” Sunak’s Office said. A spokesperson for the office told Breaking Defense it didn’t immediately have more information to share.

The RAF fighter jet fleets are made up of Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35 aircraft. Realistically, only the Typhoons are likely to be part of any Ukraine training considerations as some are in storage or set for retirement, while only one UK F-35 squadron has so far been stood up. The Lockheed Martin-made, highly advanced and extremely pricey F-35 is used by several American allies, but has yet to be part of any serious discussion for Ukraine.

The offer to train Ukrainian pilots comes as the RAF has been heavily criticized by lawmakers for long delays to UK fighter jet pilot training due to capacity issues that have led to trainees being put into a holding pattern. A number of trainees have only received frontline flight clearance after seven years or longer in some cases. Those placed on hold have been instructed by the RAF to take on non-flying roles in the interim, such as supporting UK attaches and ambassadors, said Mike Wigston, Chief of the Air Staff, RAF during a Feb. 1 defense committee hearing.

100-Plus Leopard 1s Rolling Towards Kyiv

Meanwhile, Ukraine is about to see a surge of ground attack power. A trilateral agreement between Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, announced today, will see the European nations send “at least” 100 Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks to Ukraine in the “coming months.”

The new Leopard project involves refurbished vehicles from German “industrial stocks” being sent to Kyiv, with training, spare parts and ammunition also provided, according to a Feb. 7 joint statement from the defense ministers of the three countries.

“Our experts are currently working out the next steps together with the industry,” said the ministers. “Our ‘Leo 1 A5 Initiative’ is open to further partners. So far, Belgium has also shown initial interest to participate.”

Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economics approved export of up to 178 Leopard 1A5s, saying how many are actually delivered depends on the state of the tanks.

Leopard 1 plans are designed to “complement” the more-advanced Leopard 2A6 program led by Germany after Berlin announced in January it would send 14 of those vehicles to Kyiv.

The Netherlands Ministry of Defense said in a separate statement that Leopard 2 discussions are still “ongoing” and will continue when defense ministers from the countries involved in supporting Ukraine meet next week in Brussels, Belgium, before a NATO defense ministers meeting.

Ukraine has been calling for tanks and fighter jets to counter an expected Russian offensive. As the war looks set to enter a second year, Western governments appear to have overcome anxiety that heavy equipment could compel the Putin administration to escalate matters or resort to nuclear action.

“We shouldn’t succumb to nuclear blackmail, [because] if we do, someday, Putin might start blackmailing the United States and ask for Alaska, it’s absolutely wrong logic,” said Oleksandr Merezhko, chair of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, during a Feb. 7 Hudson Institute think tank event, held in Washington DC. “From what we can see Putin is a coward and when his provocations are met with force and decisiveness, he breaks down.”

Merezhko added that Putin not saying “anything against” Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership application proves that “strong reactions” are worthwhile.

Newer escalation threats have emerged recently though, including in a Russian news agency TASS report last week that said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the West of wanting to turn Moldova into the “next Ukraine” in reference to the Eastern European country considering NATO membership.

Around 1,500 Russian troops have been based in the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria for decades to support peacekeeping and protect a Soviet era ammunition dump, according to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank.