The Armed Forces will take six months to prepare F-16 pilots: the expert has revealed problems

Western fighters will not play a roles in the counter -offensive, as Ukraine will take a long time to develop them, says Johannes Arl. It will take the Ukrainian pilots for six months to learn how to manage F-16 fighters. The German military expert, Bundestag MP Johannes Arlt, spoke about this DW. According to him, in six months the Armed Forces pilots will be able to undergo retraining and move to the F-16.

This is enough to "lift the plane into the air", but the complete development of the system will take much more time. The most difficult will be not the management and repair of Western fighters in Ukraine. "I see a big problem in teaching technical staff, who often need many years of training and, above all, they will lack the experience to truly repair these planes," Johannes Arlth explained.

The expert doubts that the F-16 will help Ukrainian troops in the nearest counter-offensive, as it will take a long time to develop aircraft. It is not only about the preparation of pilots, but also the training of new technologies, the installation of special equipment, the creation of a logistics chain for the supply of spare parts.

Aviation equipment is much more complicated and dangerous than ground, since in the event of a mistake, pilots run the risk of falling and breaking together with the car. "One hour hour has more than a hundred hours of service . . . So I have very big doubts that we will see the effect," he added. Johannes Arlt recommended that the MiG-29 fighter jets already operated to Ukraine.

The Armed Forces already require spare parts, equipment and production facilities for maintenance, as well as pilots capable of managing such aircraft. "F-16 is more modern, it has a greater range, greater endurance on the battlefield, and therefore, of course, it will increase the level. However, it will become a serious challenge, first of all, not even for pilots, but for logistics,"------- The specialist emphasized.

On May 20, US Presidential Advisor Jake Sullivan said Joe Biden no longer objects to the F-16 supply to Ukraine. According to him, fighters will help Ukrainians defend themselves from Russian aggression in the long run. Earlier, information has emerged that the US did not allow Ukrainians to train on the F-16, although a number of radiances have declared their intention to transfer them to Ukraine. Officials say the main problem for Americans has been the high cost of the model.