The US military is reportedly evaluating two Ukrainian pilots for skills with attack aircraft, including F-16s at an Arizona Air Force base.
The pair of pilots are doing simulator ratings this week, and the U.S. could accept as many as 12 pilots for the program, according to NBC. US military trainers are reportedly trying to both expand the pilots’ skills and evaluate how long it would take to fully train Ukrainian pilots on certain equipment.
“The program is about assessing their capabilities as pilots so that we can better advise them on how to use the capabilities that they have and that we have given them,” an administrative official told the outlet.
News of the program comes weeks after Ukrainian officials pleaded with the US and Germany to provide fighter jets for their war effort. Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called on the US to provide F-16s in particular.
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Ukrainian officials have called on the US to provide F-16s for its war effort. (US Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Andrew Lee)
Ukraine has sent two pilots to the US for simulator assessment on attack aircraft. (EVAN VUCCI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
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President Biden previously rejected calls to supply F-16s, but told reporters in late January that the US would not send any.
The US recently pledged to send 60 Bradley armored vehicles and 31 M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine. The US Department of Defense had previously advised against sending the Abrams vehicles, arguing that the German Leopard 2 tanks were better suited to the conflict.
The US has long resisted sending fighter jets to Ukraine, including Soviet-era jets from neighboring countries such as Poland, out of concern that the war could escalate beyond Ukraine’s borders.
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While Germany’s Leopard 2 tanks will reach the front lines of Ukraine a Within weeks, it will be months before Ukrainian troops are trained in the use and maintenance of Abrams tanks.
Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter at Fox News Digital covering national politics and major news events. Send tips to [email protected], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.
