Exclusive: Ukrainian pilots get virtual jump on F-16 training

OUTSIDE KYIV, UKRAINE — Ukrainian pilots are honing their skills in virtual F-16 fighter jet cockpits as they anxiously await approval to travel abroad for training.

A Ukrainian pilot gave a demonstration to a reporter from The Hill in an exclusive visit to a secret facility this month, where the cockpit simulation was displayed on large computer monitors for a small audience.

Andrii, a Su-27 fighter pilot who goes by the call sign ‘Sabre,’ sat in a mock jet seat with a joystick, pedals under his feet, and a throttle to the left. The action takes place in a virtual reality headset.

The ground location, while pixelated, is Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, and Andrii must identify his target, discharge his bomb and execute an “anti-missile maneuver.”

“And you will see that it explodes,” he explains, as a small fire burns on the computer screen. “This is the fulfillment of the mission, precisely how it is supposed to be in reality.”

Andrii keeps his hands on the controls while leaning his body and swiveling his head in the same movements he would undertake in the Soviet-era Su-27 he typically flies. On the side of his left arm is a patch for “The Ghosts of Kyiv,” the 40th tactical aviation brigade of the air force that draws its name from the debunked myth of a single fighter pilot hailed for taking down multiple Russian planes.

“We are studying F-16s. We are not interested in other aircraft,” he said, echoing a message that Ukraine’s civilian and military leaders have reiterated for months in meetings with Western partners.

After hours in the simulator, Andrii said that when he does sit in the jet, his focus can be on flying because he will know, precisely, how to manage the controls.

“We need to learn and understand the function of every button or switch, and where it is located. That will allow us later to fulfill certain missions quicker. So, we need to learn how to use and maintain this aircraft competently,” he said.

The simulator program training pilots on F-16s has not been previously reported. After a visit by The Hill, the Ukrainian air force released a promotional video on the program featuring Andrii and Oleksii Diakiv, head of the training command for the air force of Ukraine.

“All of us understand that the future belongs to F-16 aircraft or the other aircraft which our partners will provide us with,” Andrii says in the video, sitting in the cockpit of his fighter jet. “That’s why we need to train now, learn the cockpit equipment, armament system and its employment.”

The genesis of the simulator training program was part of a push to get American A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft to Ukraine — but that effort was eventually shelved.

The simulators are provided by the nonprofit Heroes and Allies, which had set up the virtual training program for A-10s more than a year earlier. They began purchasing computer software and controls for the F-16 program beginning in August of last year.

“We still have hope that Ukraine will receive the A-10 Thunderbolt II, after the F-16 is provided to Ukraine and its use is fully deployed,” said Alexander Gorgan, co-founder of Heroes and Allies.

President Biden agreed in June to allow the transfer of American-made F-16s from allied countries to Ukraine, and he announced in August that the U.S. would start training some Ukrainian pilots and support personnel at a base in Arizona as soon as October.

But delivery of the aircraft and their operations are not expected to take place until 2024 at the earliest.

Diakiv told The Hill that the simulator program is expected to reduce the overall length of the training for pilots, but it’s a protocol that’s never been tried before.

“We are taking this road for the first time now. So at this moment, I cannot say how much we will be able to reduce the length of training, owing to that approach,” he explained through a translator.

“But we are sure that this will reduce the time needed for that training. But once we have that experience, we certainly will be able to share it.”

The simulator also allows pilots the space to practice missions on the ground without wasting expensive fuel or risking a deadly training accident.

Two weeks before The Hill’s visit with Andrii, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that a training accident killed three pilots, among them Andriy “Juice” Pilshchykov, a national hero who had taken on an informal role of a spokesperson for Ukraine’s F-16s push.

Juice spoke to The Hill in August 2022, crediting American-provided anti-radar missiles as key in suppressing Russian air defenses, and spoke of the bond he built with U.S. pilots in 2018 after a training accident killed an American and Ukrainian pilot.

“U.S. Air Force became the real brothers in arms for us, with blood on our soil,” he told The Hill at the time.

Russia claims that it has downed more than 450 Ukrainian airplanes, a number that draws a hearty laugh from members of Ukraine’s air force, who say the actual figure is far smaller.

“So perhaps then we’ve got some blue-collar guys who sit underground and make a big number of airplanes every month,” Diakiv said to laughs in the group. “Tiny little dwarfs or elves or hobbits who can fix anything.”

While Ukraine does not comment on its war losses, a senior U.S. official reportedly said in March that Kyiv has lost about 60 aircraft and downed about 70 Russian aircraft.

It’s unclear how many F-16s Ukraine is expected to receive. Denmark has committed to send 19. The Netherlands has a fleet of 42 F-16s but has not yet said how many it will send.

And even as the F-16s are hotly anticipated, the planes are not expected to be a game-changer on the battlefield.

Ukrainian and U.S. officials, as well as experts, say no weapons system on its own will bring Russia to the negotiating table, but rather that consistent commitments from the U.S. and other allies could eventually wear down the support surrounding Russian President Vladimir Putin in maintaining his war.

“I think you’re always in a good place if you talk about capability requirements. Instead of talking about specific platforms or specific numbers, what is the capability that Ukraine needs?” asked Ben Hodges, former commanding general of the United States Army Europe.

“And of course the capability they need for this counteroffensive is to help isolate Crimea and make it untenable for Russian forces, whether that’s with jets, drones, ATACMs [long-range missiles] or whatever, that’s the decisive part of this war, is Crimea,” Hodges said.

But key to Ukraine’s defense is giving the country the ability to close its skies.

Expanding air defense over larger parts of the country — where Russia continues to hit civilian infrastructure including homes and energy and water systems — is viewed as critical for Ukraine to function as a country, keeping its citizens at home and working, and ensuring the safety of international investments and commerce.

Blending a new fleet of F-16 fighter pilots with Western air defense systems is viewed as key to this strategy.

“Perhaps it is less important how many units of the weapons they provide for us, but how well we will be able to use the advantages provided by one or another system. Perhaps we need to combine them in the most rational way to accomplish closing our sky,” Diakiv said.

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