According to an Arizona National Guard spokeswoman, a second group, also four pilots, began training in January, and the third group of four is learning specialized English language terms necessary to fly the fourth-generation fighter.

All pilots are expected to complete the training between May and August, the spokeswoman said, although the exact schedule depends on the program’s progress.

On Monday, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Colonel Yuriy Ihnat reported that the infrastructure in Ukraine is already being adjusted to accommodate the U.S. F-16 fighters. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s partners are ready to hand over the planes, he noted.

“I think we will see them [F-16s] in Ukraine in June,” the Ukrainska Pravda website quoted Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas as saying at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday.

In early February, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren announced that her country would provide Ukraine with a total of 24 F-16 fighter jets. Denmark has also promised to give Ukraine several planes of this type.

Furthermore, ministers from 11 NATO countries established a coalition at the North Atlantic Alliance summit in Vilnius in July 2023 to train Ukrainian pilots and mechanics in the use and operation of F-16s. In August of that year, the U.S. officially assured Denmark and the Netherlands that it would expedite the approval of all necessary third-party requests for the transfer of F-16s to Ukraine, so that Kyiv would receive the fighters as soon as the pilots were trained.