Evening taxi

A 114th Fighter Wing F-16 Fighting Falcon waits to taxi for evening operations at Joe Foss Field, S.D. April 26, 2023. Pilots and personnel from operations and maintenance conduct evening operations to maintain their mission readiness. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Taylor Solberg)

WASHINGTON — Over the next few weeks, the US and partner nations will launch a joint training program in Europe in which Ukrainian pilots will learn how to operate fourth-generation fighter jets, like the US-made F-16, a senior Biden administration official told Breaking Defense.

Washington has long been opposed to providing Kyiv with such aircraft, as officials balance supporting Ukraine with fears over further escalating the conflict. But earlier today President Joe Biden notified G-7 leaders that the United States is now ready to support training.

As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them,” an administration official wrote in an email.

“This training will take place outside Ukraine at sites in Europe and will require months to complete,” the official added.  “We hope we can begin this training in the coming weeks.”

Just how long those pilots will need is unclear, but on Thursday Yahoo reported that based on an internal US Air Force assessment, it will likely only take about four months to train them on how to operate F-16 fighter jets, much less time than previously cited. 

For more than a year, Ukraine has been pleading for Western fighter jets that could eventually replace the aging MiG-29s and Su-27s lost in combat. Although the US Air Force previously indicated that it may be willing to transfer some of its unused jets to the Eastern European nation and begin training, the administration has not backed that plan. In January, when asked if the US would send F-16s to Ukraine, Biden flatly said, “No.”

The administration official today did not detail what has swayed Biden but did say it is part of an ongoing evaluation of just what “systems, weapons, and training” Ukraine will need to conduct offensive operations this spring and summer.

“Discussions about improving the Ukrainian Air Force reflect our long-term commitment to Ukraine’s self-defense,” the official added. 

The F-16 is just one possible fighter jet that could be bound for Ukraine and other nations have been exploring options for months. In February, for example, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak 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 planned to offer to train Ukrainian fighter pilots for the first time.