Ukraine and the Czech Republic reached an agreement on the establishment of a joint school for the training of F-16 fighter pilots. Currently, the partners are already working on the implementation of this project. About this stated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a joint press conference with the President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel.
Zelensky noted that in addition to the joint initiative to supply ammunition, both countries are actively cooperating within the aviation coalition. The result of this cooperation should be a school for fighter pilots.
“Today, President Pavel and I, as well as our representatives at the level of our government officials and the military, are discussing the next steps in the development of our aviation coalition, namely the creation of the Ukrainian-Czech F-16 school,” – explained the head of the Ukrainian state.
At the same time, he noted that due to security considerations, the opening of such a school on the territory of Ukraine during the war is impossible:
“Russian strikes continue every day, so we are working with partners so that such schools can open outside of Ukraine. And it will happen, we agreed that the Czech Republic will be with us in the implementation of relevant decisions.”
We will remind that in 2023, Ukraine, together with international partners, established an aviation coalition with the aim of transferring F-16 combat aircraft. As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted, the country needs at least 128 F-16 fighters for effective defense.
In 2024, Ukraine received the first F-16s from the Allies. The exact number of transferred aircraft is currently unknown. The Netherlands and Denmark were the first countries to transfer fighters.
