The BBC goes to a Nato air exercise to see the challenges in training Ukrainians on F-16 fighters.
The West now plans to train Ukrainian pilots on F16s. But when will they be able to use them in the war?Western allies are set to announce their plans to train Ukrainian pilots to fly US-made F-16s when they meet in Brussels today. But it's still not clear which countries will be willing to provide the jets, how many, or even when.
Gen Folland says the training is about dominating the skies - to avoid what he calls the type of "old fashioned" conflict now taking place in Ukraine. Pulse sees the logic of providing Western jets to Ukraine. He points to his F-16's weapons: air-to-air missiles to destroy enemy aircraft, and bombs to hit targets on the ground. "That's important," says Pulse, "because you can use any weapons from Nato stocks with this jet."The Norwegian Air Force, like others in Europe, has transitioned to the more modern F-35. So in theory there should be F-16s available for Ukraine.
He says there's a large logistical tail - spare parts, software and weapons. But he too understands the need to modernise Ukraine's fleet of old Soviet-era jets. Professor Bronk adds that Russia is only more likely to target Ukraine's air bases if it's supplied with Western jets. That's a danger for the single engine F-16, which has a large intake that can suck up debris from the runway.
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