Emmanuel Macron assured that the “door was open” to provide lessons on his soil. kyiv has been calling for Western fighter jets, including American F-16s, for months. In vain so far.
Towards the end of the aerial taboo? While kyiv needs planes to strengthen its anti-aircraft defense and support ground forces during offensives, Emmanuel Macron said he had “opened the door to train pilots” Ukrainian fighters, Monday May 15 on TF1. “We need to start training today, this is the agreement that several European countries have reached”he added, without providing further details. “I believe discussions are ongoing with the Americans.”
The day before, the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, had promised (press release in English) that his country would offer basic training to Ukrainian pilots this summer. So much for the announcement effects. Because since these speeches, in London as in Paris, discretion remains in place on the exact nature of the formations.
At least three months of training required
“At first, it will be a basic training, on the ground, but which could evolve later”comments to franceinfo a source close to the file. “But the goal, all the same, is to be operational at the end.” No details were communicated on the personnel and the military bases concerned. Candidate pilots must, in any case, have “a physical aptitude, an engineering level and speak very good English”says Jérôme Pellistrandi, editor-in-chief of the journal National Defenseat the microphone of franceinfo.
It takes a year and a half to train beginners, continues Xavier Tytelman, editor-in-chief ofAir & Cosmos, but three months may be enough in the case of fighter pilots already seasoned on Soviet models (MiG-29 or Su-27). The aeronautics and defense consultant relies on the testimony of a former French pilot who participated in the training of pilots from the former East Germany, at the end of the 1990s and in the 2000s, for the move from the MiG-29 to the Mirage 2000. The internship then began with a month of theory. So, “it is not because the training begins on the ground that it is addressed to beginners”summarizes Xavier Tytelman.
At the end of March, the Ministry of Defense announced that Ukrainian military air personnel were already in training in Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle) and Mont-de-Marsan (Landes). The objective was to “to train Ukrainian crews in ground-to-air defense and survival, in case their aircraft is shot down”, said General Yann Gravethe during a press briefing. The content of the training of Ukrainian pilots mentioned by Emmanuel Macron still seems vague, but it opens a new chapter in cooperation between Paris and kyiv. “Many pilots are available in Ukraine”, recalls Xavier Tytelman. About sixty Ukrainian aircraft were destroyed by strikes, particularly on the ground, during the first days of the war.
kyiv still hopes for 50 American F-16s
Paris had so far pushed back the question of a future delivery of combat aircraft, explaining that it would take long months to train pilots. Could the kick-off of this training also pave the way for deliveries? In total, 13 French Mirage 2000-Cs were recently withdrawn from service, the entourage of the Air Force Chief of Staff told AFP in February. However, it would take time to bring them back into service. Emmanuel Macron also estimated that a possible delivery “would be a theoretical debate”suggesting that the issue was not yet on the agenda.
Ukraine, for its part, has set its sights on the American-made F-16. kyiv would like to obtain 40 to 50 units to constitute three or four squadrons, declared Youri Sak, adviser to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, quoted by the site Politico (article in English). Main advantage: there are thousands of copies of this device in about 25 countries. Their cost is moderate, especially since some units, at the end of their life, are gradually being replaced by F-35s. Their versatility also works in their favour. “It is possible to upgrade them very quickly”explains Xavier Tytelman, and to play on all fronts, depending on the configuration adopted: air-air, air-ground.
A situation still frozen among the allies
However, despite their announcements, Paris and London do not have F-16s. It is therefore likely, in the event that the delivery of French Rafale aircraft is excluded, that the training mentioned by France will be adapted to other equipment. The United Kingdom has already made it known that its education, “to NATO standards”would be “adapted”so that Ukrainian pilots can use their skills “on another type of aircraft” than those of the Royal Air Force.
At the same time, London ensures to multiply the “efforts” with other countries for kyiv to get F-16s, “the planes chosen by Ukraine”, specify the services of the British Prime Minister. In January, the manufacturer Lockheed Martin announced in the FinancialTimes (article in English) an increase in production at its plant in South Carolina (United States), in order to supply countries wishing to make transfers to Ukraine. In recent months, several European states, like the Netherlands, have said they are ready to deliver F-16s. But no one took the decision to transfer these devices alone.
The situation therefore seems to be frozen. In the United States, at the beginning of March, two first Ukrainian pilots followed an evaluation on the military base of Tucson, taking part in exercises on a simulator. Kyiv welcomed this start of collaboration. “The results have been very good: Ukrainian pilots can learn to fly and use weapon systems on the F-16 in less than six months,” welcomed General Serhiï Holubtsov, questioned by the Times (article in English). But Washington still excludes delivering devices, since the refusal posted in January by President Joe Biden.
This year, Poland and Slovakia have already transferred MiG-29s to Ukraine, and North Macedonia Su-25s. For lack of anything better, kyiv has one last lever to try to control the sky: adapt and integrate new “technological bricks” on its Soviet models, explains Xavier Tytelman. Last summer, MiG-29s and Su-27s were adapted to fire anti-radar missiles. In March, the head of the US Air Force in Europe, James Hecker, confirmed to the press (article in English) the delivery of JDAM systems, which make it possible to transform conventional bombs into guided and precise bombs. Far, in spite of everything, from Ukrainian hopes.