France will join the training of Ukrainian pilots on Western fighters in early 2024.

This is stated in the report of the French Ministry of Defense on military assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia.

This initial training phase will be followed by continued collaboration with European partners.

The French Ministry of Defense recalled that French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed his readiness to train Ukrainian fighter pilots together with several European partners back in May 2023.

“The first pilots will arrive in early 2024. After initial training in France, they will continue fighter training in courses organized by our partners,” the report indicates.

While the report from the French Ministry of Defense did not specify the type of fighters involved, it’s possible that the initial training for Ukrainian pilots may involve exercises on F-16 fighters. These exercises are organized in Europe by a coalition led by Denmark and the Netherlands.

As reported previously, Ukrainian pilots have already begun F-16 training in the United States, where they switched to flight training, and Denmark.

In Romania, with the assistance of the Netherlands, a training center was opened, which in particular will receive Ukrainian pilots.

The UK announced its intentions to conduct exercises for Ukrainians on Western-style fighters.

In December, the Bulgarian Defense Committee also approved assistance in training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters.

In November, it became known that Ukraine was looking for opportunities to modernize the F-16 planned for the transfer of fighters.

As part of military assistance, Ukraine is expected to receive F-16 Block 20 MLU fighters from European partners. These aircraft underwent modernization as part of the ‘Mid-Life Update’ program in the early 2000s. However, it has been noted that the current state of these European fighters, in light of various technological advancements, may not fully meet present requirements.