No Ukrainian Crew to Fly F-16; U.S. Senator Suggests Recruiting Mercenary Pilots

A U.S. senator has suggested recruiting retired F-16 pilots to work as mercenary crew to make up for the lack of trained F-16 pilots in Ukraine’s Air Force.

Senator Lindsey Graham proposed hiring retired NATO F-16 pilots to assist Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, suggesting that these pilots could fight for Ukraine until their own pilots are trained.

He made the suggestion during a media interaction after meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky in Kyiv.

Senator Graham was quoted as saying,"They will look for ready retired pilots among NATO countries to help them until they train their own pilots," he said.

According to the results of negotiations with Zelensky, Graham said that retired F-16 pilots who want to fight for freedom can be hired by Ukraine.

"We just spoke with Zelensky: if you're a retired F-16 pilot looking for an opportunity to fight for freedom—they'll hire you here," the senator said.

Ever since acquiring the F-16s over a week ago, Ukraine has not pressed the aircraft in its fight against Russia leading to speculation that Ukraine Air Force is concerned about Russian air defenses.

Prior to acquiring the aircraft, Ukraine had got some 100 pilots and an unknown number of ground crew trained in piloting and maintaining the F-16s at NATO facilities in Europe.