Long-range weapons and military training for the pilots – Great Britain is preparing new assistance for Ukraine

London prepares to start training Ukrainian fighter jet pilots and marines, and will also “offer to provide Ukraine with longer range capabilities.”

This was announced on the website of the United Kingdom government, commenting on the visit of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.

“As part of today’s talks, the Prime Minister will offer to bolster the UK’s training offer for Ukrainian troops, including expanding it to fighter jet pilots to ensure Ukraine can defend its skies well into the future,” the statement reads.

It is pointed out that the training will ensure that pilots are able to fly sophisticated NATO-standard fighter jets in the future. At the same time, London does not specify the types of those fighter jets. The Royal Air Force of Great Britain has Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35 fighter jets in service.

The UK uses the Beechcraft Texan T1 for basic high-speed jet pilot training and the BAE Hawk T2 for advanced training.

Additionally, it is planned to start the immediate training of marines.

“That training will be in addition to the recruit training programme already running in the UK. The UK will continue to work with the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the international community to scale the programme up in 2023,” the statement noted.

Rishi Sunak will also offer to provide Ukraine with longer range capabilities.

This will “disrupt Russia’s ability to continually target Ukraine’s civilian and critical national infrastructure and help relieve pressure on Ukraine’s frontlines.”

However, it is not specified what exactly those means will include.

President Volodymyr Zelensky will also meet with the Heads of Defense Departments, including the Chief of the Defense Staff and the Chief of the Aviation Staff, to discuss the details of the training program.

As previously reported, last week, the Ukrainian military arrived in Great Britain to begin training on Challenger 2 tanks.