The Times: Zelensky will have to wait five years for British-trained pilots

Military journalist publications The Times George Grylls urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky not to count on quick deliveries of British fighters. “The RAF has been training pilots for five years,” the article emphasizes. At the same time, Grylls notes that in reality the period is even longer, since some British military have not yet completed their training after nine years.

The author points out that hundreds of British pilots are waiting for a long time for their turn on training flights. Yes, the training program is three years long, but the National Audit Office’s 2019 report says that the training timeline is stretched over seven years. In February, members of parliament at a meeting of the defense committee mentioned that they met pilots who, nine years later, had not yet completed their training.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston said that the situation is improving and now the average training period for pilots is already approaching five years and should be reduced to four years in 2024.

Grylls mentioned Zelenskiy’s words that Ukrainians already know how to fly Soviet-era planes, so they, according to the Ukrainian president, could finish their training earlier. However, the author believes that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s proposal to train Ukrainian pilots is more diplomatic than practical. The expectation that other countries will agree to follow the example of the UK. Then there is a chance that “Ukrainian pilots will sit at the controls of Western combat aircraft much earlier than in five years.”

However, so far, it is worth noting that the queues for the transfer of aircraft to Kyiv in Europe have not lined up. So today, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, upon arrival at the EU summit, said that he was not considering the possibility of providing Ukraine with its own fighters. “We really need these planes ourselves and we cannot give them away. Belgian planes protect the skies over Belgium and Holland, as well as NATO airspace in the Baltics,” De Croo said.