"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (1 Viewer)

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I don't understand the footage here. Are this pilot and handler Ukrainian? I don't see any national markings. If they're not Ukrainian there's no point to this footage other than to show cool aircraft as a backdrop to the text.
This is about the two Ukrainian pilots who were sent to Arizona to train and be evaluated on the F-16.
The two pilots, who are experienced with the MiG-29 and Sukhoi, were able to adapt to the F-16 with a high degree of skill much faster than was first thought.

They're hard to see (at least on my phone), but the video is captioned along the bottom.
 
This is about the two Ukrainian pilots who were sent to Arizona to train and be evaluated on the F-16.
The two pilots, who are experienced with the MiG-29 and Sukhoi, were able to adapt to the F-16 with a high degree of skill much faster than was first thought.

They're hard to see (at least on my phone), but the video is captioned along the bottom.
Two things stand out here to me. First, the UAF guys are familiar with Western air battle tactics so the mentality is already prepped.

Second, after about 30 minutes in a MiG-29 sim, the IP said that's all you I have to teach you. It took about 12-15 sims in the Eagle to get okay at using it, and about a year to become a Flight Lead. Putting an Eastern trained guy, experienced in Western fight philosophy, in a Western jet seems to be a fairly easy transition.

When I fought the MiGs in 2000 there were about five guys who were originally from East Germany. Of them only 1 was decent. Evidently the UAF has a different recruiting/ training mentality than other buffer states.

Cheers,
Biff
 
Two things stand out here to me. First, the UAF guys are familiar with Western air battle tactics so the mentality is already prepped.

Second, after about 30 minutes in a MiG-29 sim, the IP said that's all you I have to teach you. It took about 12-15 sims in the Eagle to get okay at using it, and about a year to become a Flight Lead. Putting an Eastern trained guy, experienced in Western fight philosophy, in a Western jet seems to be a fairly easy transition.

When I fought the MiGs in 2000 there were about five guys who were originally from East Germany. Of them only 1 was decent. Evidently the UAF has a different recruiting/ training mentality than other buffer states.

Cheers,
Biff
While I am not a zoomie, I do have stick-time, so I can relate somewhat to the Ukrainian pilots being able to do well with the F-16. For example, there is a huge difference between a Cub and a Cherokee Warrior, but having a handle on the basics as well as time under various conditions, means that a little adjustment for familiarity won't take long.

The F-16 is a high performance combat platform, much like it's F-15 brother and it's MiG-29 and Su-37 counterparts.

There will be unique traits, like flame-out procedures, instrument/system monitor differences and of course, the weird fly-by-wire joystick thingy, that they'll need to adapt to - but in the end, as experienced and accomplished pilots, they should be able to adapt without much of an issue.
 
but in the end, as experienced and accomplished pilots, they should be able to adapt without much of an issue.
How many experienced fighter pilots would Ukraine have? Did they have an active recruitment and training drive post-2014? I know they have Aero L-39 Albatros trainers, and post-2014 Ukraine definitely expanded its military spending, but it was not a wealthy country. I have this feeling that Ukraine has a oversized and formidable group of fighter pilots, but I have no idea how they achieved this.
 
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US commits to training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in Europe

Biden speech:
Just a few weeks ago, I was with President Zelenskyy in Hiroshima at the G7.

I told him that we'd work with our partners to begin training Ukrainian pilots in Europe on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including the F-16, so Ukraine can defend itself today and in the future.
 
They make a stout vehicle.


View: https://twitter.com/RoshelDefence/status/1663345244912463873?s=20
 
How many experienced fighter pilots would Ukraine have? Did they have an active recruitment and training drive post-2014? I know they have Aero L-39 Albatros trainers, and post-2014 Ukraine definitely expanded its military spending, but it was not a wealthy country. I have this feeling that Ukraine has a oversized and formidable group of fighter pilots, but I have no idea how they achieved this.
I would expect Ukraine to have more pilots per aircraft than most air forces. The number of aircraft will have reduced both to losses and general wear and tear. The flight hours will be far above normal and even in a war, they will need maintenance. Clearly a number of pilots will have been killed, but others would have ejected, and planes will have been lost on the ground. Over time I would expect there will be a number of pilots without aircraft.
Some will be free to be trained on the F16.
 
Still no ATACAMS? The US has promised F-16s.... so surely there's no perceived escalation with the ATACAMS.
Has it? They are assisting on the training and are supportive but no formal promise of actual jets has been made. The comments made to date I believe are "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"
 
Nice picture:

ivJh2cV.jpeg
 

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