The fatal crash of a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet late in August was what happens when pilot training has been rushed, a senior Western defence official has reportedly said.
According to The Wall Street Journal on September 5, the accident has led to some questioning the speed at which Ukrainian pilots were trained on the advanced US combat aircraft.
Speaking to the publication, the anonymous defence official said there were no plans to change how Ukrainian pilots were being trained on the aircraft as of yet.
He warned, though, that “the crash shows what happens when you try to rush things”.
Other officials said most pilots trained on the fighter fly for as long as a year with their unit before seeing combat, as opposed to the few months the dead Ukrainian pilot was given to become familiar with the plane.
One expert did emphasise that the pilot involved in the incident was also likely to have been more experienced in combat in general than the majority of Western pilots.
“These guys are former fighter pilots, it’s not like we accelerated a greenhorn — a lot of them had talent,” he said.
“I would hazard to say that the West hasn’t faced anything like what [the deceased pilot] was facing.”
Speaking on record regarding, Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Pat Ryder said that Ukraine would likely be able to learn from the crash.
“You’re always going to learn from various incidents or engagements that get applied back into lessons learned,” he said.
Ukraine has received its first F-16 fighter jets from the West, European politicians and news agencies have reported. https://t.co/lufPtCnOv8
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) August 1, 2024
