Romania opens training center for Ukrainian pilots
Romania has announced the establishment of
a regional training
center for F-16 fighter pilots, to be accessible to NATO allies and partners,
including Ukraine. The country's supreme defense council (CSAT) unveiled this decision
prior to the NATO summit in Vilnius, as reported by Reuters on July 6.
“Together with other allies and the company which builds this fighter plane, a regional hub will be created in Romania to train pilots who will fly these jets,” the message said.
According to the CSAT, the center will initially focus on training Romanian pilots who operate F-16 aircraft. Subsequently, it will open its doors to pilots from allied countries and NATO partners, including Ukraine.
On May 25, Western allies agreed that Denmark and the Netherlands would spearhead the European coalition for supplying fighter jets to Ukraine.
The United States indicated that over the upcoming months, allies will strategize about the timing, types, and quantity of aircraft to be supplied to Ukraine. However, any provision of fighter jets will hinge upon the understanding that Ukraine will not use them to strike at Russian territory.
Eight European countries have already enlisted in the "fighter jet coalition" for Ukraine: the UK, the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Portugal, and France.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov previously said that Ukraine will not get modern F-16 fighters before early 2024.
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