U.S. to Lead Coalition to Train Ukraine F-16 Pilots

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday. [Credit: DOD]

The U.S. will lead a new coalition to develop Ukraine's air force by training F-16 fighter pilots, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Wednesday while attending a NATO defense ministers summit in Brussels.

Denmark and the Netherlands will also join the Americans in training F-16 pilots and maintainers, Austin said. The two countries, along with Norway, have pledged to donate F-16s to Ukraine, which has long sought access to the aircraft following Russia’s invasion in 2022.

READ MORE: Ukrainian Air Force Pilots Begin F-16 Training

"By leading this capability coalition, the United States will coordinate closely with Ukraine and other partners with the focus on developing Ukraine's F-16 fighter aircraft capabilities," Austin said after attending the 16th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

A small group of Ukraine's fighter pilots are scheduled to begin flight training on the fighter jets in Arizona. Ukrainian pilots are also familiarizing themselves with flying F-16s by using desktop virtual reality flight simulators.