Ukraine pursues retired NATO fighter pilots to fly
new F-16 fleet
By Ryan Finnerty13 August 2024
Ukraine is exploring the possibility of recruiting retired NATO fighter
pilots to supplement the country’s beleaguered air force.
The initiative will specifically target aviators qualified on the
single-engined Lockheed Martin F-16, which the Ukrainian air force recently
began operating, according to two US lawmakers briefed on the plan.
Senators Richard Blumenthal and Lindsey Graham met with Ukrainian
president Volodymyr Zelensky during a 12 August visit to Kyiv, during which the
pilot recruitment idea was discussed.
“President Zelensky told us both that he would be looking to supplement
his air force by establishing a programme to enlist retired NATO F-16 fighter
pilots,” the pair of legislators said following the visit. “We support
this effort.”
Ukraine began operating its
first F-16s earlier this month, more than a year after Denmark and the
Netherlands first committed to providing Kyiv with the combat aircraft from
their own fleets. Belgium and Norway have subsequently pledged more fighters,
with the USA stepping in to help train pilots and maintainers.
Only a small number of F-16s are believed to have been turned over thus
far, although nearly 100 aircraft have been pledged to Ukraine in total. France
has also committed a number of its Dassault Mirage 2000-5 jets.
The Ukrainian air
force has finally begun operating Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters, more than a
year after NATO governments first pledged to provide Kyiv with the combat
aircraft
While those aircraft can be made ready in fairly short order, training
Ukrainian aviators to operate the jets safely and effectively has proven to be
a much slower process, delaying the arrival of the much-needed air combat
capability to frontline service.
This appears to be the reason for Ukraine’s overture to Western
officials regarding the recruitment of experienced F-16 pilots.
However, it is unclear whether such employment would run afoul of
security restrictions placed upon military aviators, who are privy to sensitive
information on aircraft systems and tactics.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on
the matter. However, Western governments have previously taken a hard stance
against retired pilots working in foreign employment.
Authorities in Washington have in recent months moved to punish foreign
entities employing former NATO pilots for the purposes of providing flight
training to Chinese nationals.
Former Royal Air Force fighter pilot Craig Penrice tells FlightGlobal
he was forced to shutter his company – UK-based Livingston Aerospace – after
the firm was named by US regulators as being associated with the Test Flying
Academy of South Africa. The flight school was sanctioned by
Washington in 2023 over the alleged training of Chinese military
pilots.
While aircraft are
becoming available, Ukraine now appears to be challenged by the availability of
trained pilots
An intelligence dossier released
in June by security agencies in the USA, the UK, Canada, New Zealand and
Australia claimed Beijing is using “lucrative contracts” with vague terms to
obscure its role in the effort.
While NATO members are clearly on better terms with Kyiv, after
providing Ukraine’s armed forces with billions of dollars’ worth of powerful weapons,
security concerns over Western citizens with sensitive military knowledge
flying in contested airspace over Russian forces may prove too high-risk.
Should former NATO pilots be shot down and captured, they would become
hostages for Russian president Vladimir Putin to use in any future ceasefire
negotiations and be subject to interrogation regarding military secrets.
The Ukrainian army is currently advancing inside sovereign Russian
territory in the Kursk region, heightening the risk to aviators supporting the
thrust.
However, senators Graham and Blumenthal seem undeterred, calling on the
USA and NATO to “accelerate the gains” made by Ukraine in recent weeks through
additional military support.
The pair say they will propose legislation in September to legally
formalise a security agreement reached between the White House and Kyiv in
July.
Also discussed was the prospect of an economic cooperation agreement
between the USA and Ukraine covering the export of strategic minerals,
including several critical to defence and aerospace manufacturing. These
include lithium, titanium and other rare-earth metals that are found in
Ukraine.
“An agreement with Ukraine in this area would make the US less
dependent on foreign adversaries for rare-earth minerals,” Blumenthal and
Graham say.
They add such a
deal would be a boon for Ukraine’s struggling wartime economy.
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