Ukraine is set to receive as many as ninety American-made F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole combat aircraft—while around two dozen of the fighters are now in service. Yet, even as more aircraft could arrive in the coming weeks, the Ukrainian Air Force may lack the pilots to fly the warbirds into action.

Last week, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense announced a bold plan to address the issue. Namely that it would cut the training time.

"The basic training program needs to be optimized. This will enable us to train more pilots to defend our country," Deputy Defence Minister Serhiy Melnkyk said in a briefing last week. "Ukrainian combat aviation must eventually gain air superiority, as this paves the way for the success of our actions on the front line."

Aviation experts have warned that training on the F-16 can't be rushed, and even experienced pilots trained on Soviet legacy aircraft could face a steep learning curve on the American fighter. Then there is the language........

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