Ukraine war latest: Russia admits massive strikes ‘to disrupt supply of Western weapons’; Djokovic’s dad ‘unwittingly caught up’ in pro-Putin demo | World News

It will take Ukrainian pilots about half a year to train for combat in Western fighter jets such as the US F-16, Ukraine’s air force spokesman has said.

Earlier this week, Ukraine got a huge boost when Germany and the US announced plans to provide heavy tanks to Kyiv.

Now, air force spokesman Yuri Ihnat has said F-16s may be the best option for a multi-role fighter to replace the country’s current fleet of warplanes, which are older than modern Ukraine itself.

He said Kyiv was currently using four types of Soviet-era planes.

“The pilots are saying it is not a problem to fly the F-16, they could learn it within several weeks. To fight with these planes is a very different thing, to use all types of weapons,” Mr Ihnat told a news briefing.

“Pilots say they could master it in about half a year,” he said.

Mr Ihnat said in addition to the pilots, aviation engineers and other specialists would need training.