Global Courant
Since the beginning of the Russian aggression, Ukrainian pilot Rostyslav Lazarenko has flown more than 330 air missions. On the first day of the war he completed his first mission.
“We were facing the unknown. The target was a convoy of 700 military vehicles coming from Crimea. After we put the plans on paper and were heading to the planes, co-pilot Sasha told me he was scared. I told him that I was also afraid but we must act. I told him who would fight if we don’t fight. This is our belief”, pilot Rostyslav Lazarenko tells VOA.
By the morning of February 24, 2022, pilot Lazarenko and his colleague had destroyed the largest Russian military convoy from Crimea. But the pilot Sasha died when his plane crashed.
Pilot Lazarenko flew through a cloud of flames but survived. The 28-year-old officer continues to fight almost every day against the Russian aggressors.
He says Ukrainian pilots are eager to learn to fly the highly capable F-16 and defend their country.
“Knowing my team and the Ukrainians, I know that when they go to train, they will do everything to acquire the knowledge of the new aircraft as quickly as possible and return to the front,” says Lieutenant Colonel Rostyslav Lazarenko.
Pilot Olexiy, who did not give his last name for security reasons, is fighting side by side with his colleague Lazarenko.
“The F-16s will defeat the advantages of the Russian Su35 because the F-16s increase the engagement distance. So we will have the capabilities to destroy the enemy in the occupied Ukrainian territories”.
Ukrainian pilots have to overcome language barriers, but Olexiy says Ukrainian pilots already know a lot about F-16s.
“Aircraft systems, flights, tactics, techniques, something that is not a problem for our pilots. Ukrainian instructors teach us that you have to become one with the plane, it’s the only thing that is taught to pilots in the English language,” says pilot Olexiy for the Voice of America.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat says Ukrainian pilots are being trained in flight simulators.
“The F-16s have touch screens. So the operation must be understood, just as a child learns to play a computer game. Children learn step by step. So it takes some time to adapt”.
The spokesman says that the Ukrainian pilots are ready.
“Dozens of pilots have been selected who will go to train in different countries. So do aviation maintenance engineers. They are pilots who know English, young and motivated”.
Mr. Ihnat says Ukrainian pilots need about four months of training for the F-16, two months less than previously thought. Although there is much to do, Ukrainian pilots are eager to meet the high expectations they face in Ukraine and beyond.
