meeting with French fighter pilots who train Ukrainian soldiers

Ukrainian soldiers are training as fighter pilots at an air base in the southwest of France. At the age of 21, a Ukrainian soldier met by the France Télévisions teams only arrived three months earlier. He learned to fly with a French instructor in a plane identical to those of the Patrouille de France. The 10 Ukrainian pilots in training were instructed not to speak. Their apprenticeship will last 6 months, instead of the usual 18 months, because kyiv needs new pilots as quickly as possible.

“They are already mentally prepared. They are young, they are all between 21 and 23 years old, but they are already warriors at heart”, describes Colonel Yann Malard. The program, dedicated to patrolling, firing and intercepting missiles, is adapted to the conflict in Ukraine. The objective presented is to enable them to acquire all the fundamentals of fighter piloting. The young Ukrainian pilots will continue their training on these French planes until August, before being trained on American planes expected by the Ukrainian army.