France wants to train new Ukrainian fighter pilots
France wants to get involved in the fighter jet coalition for Ukraine, above all in the basic training of new pilots. The basics of training for fighter pilots are the same worldwide, according to sources in the French presidential palace on Saturday in Hiroshima, Japan. The challenge, however, is that French pilot training is French-speaking and therefore requires Ukrainians who speak French as well as English. They are currently working with the Ukrainians on the subject, it said. The complete training of a soldier with no flying experience to become a fighter pilot takes at least four years.
It is another matter, according to the information, to train a Ukrainian fighter pilot trained on Soviet models how to use a Western aircraft model. This takes four to nine months – depending on the skill level you want to achieve. It was also emphasized that Ukraine could ultimately be supplied with fighter jets other than the F-16. The F-16 is more a symbol of a weapon type like the Leopard tank, it said.
In addition, it was emphasized in circles in the Élysée Palace that western fighter jets were no guarantee of success in the war. “They can have endless F-16s and lose the war if they don’t have the other necessary things,” it said.