Ukrainian F-16 Squadron: The Wall Street Journal Reports Disappointing News.

Ukraine is facing issues with assembling a full squadron of F-16 fighter jets by the end of the year. According to The Wall Street Journal, the delivery of such a number of aircraft will be postponed until next year. The reason for this is the reallocation of Ukrainian pilots' training, focusing on younger cadets instead of experienced pilots. According to the publication's estimates, this could delay the delivery of a full squadron by many months. The main reason for this is the lack of experienced pilots with English proficiency. Additionally, some officials believe that younger cadets will better grasp Western training.

Ukrainian pilots are being trained in three different locations: at Morris base in Arizona, at the Danish airbase in Skrydstrup (which has been closed), and in Romania. According to WSJ, only ten pilots have completed these courses and eleven are already operating in Ukraine. Some pilots who trained in Denmark are not included in the program. According to the journal, Ukraine is likely to receive a full F-16 squadron (20 aircraft and 40 pilots) no earlier than the spring or summer of next year.

Among Ukrainian cadets, there are eight people who have trained in France on Alpha Jets and have recently started training on F-16s in Romania. Another eight experienced pilots are completing their training in Arizona and will arrive in Ukraine early next year. It should be noted that Ukraine needs at least 200 F-16 fighters to achieve parity with Russia in the sky.

It should be noted that the training of a new group of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s will commence after completing the language course. An agreement with Denmark has also been reached to provide another batch of F-16s by the end of this year. Previously, according to The New York Times, Ukraine will be able to use no more than 10 F-16 fighters on the battlefield by 2024.