Ukraine is now recruiting retired F-16 pilots to bolster its ranks, according to a senior U.S. lawmaker. Sen. Lindsay Graham said this week that ex-Viper pilots can likely get a combat job if they want one. “If you’re a retired F-16 pilot and you’re looking to fight for freedom, they will hire you here,” Graham told reporters after a meeting with Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelensky. “They’re going to look throughout NATO nations for willing fighter pilots who retired to come help them until they can get their pilots trained. So we’re going to get these jets in the air sooner rather than later.”
Ukraine got its first few F-16s in late July and there should be about 20 ready for combat by the end of the year, but training pilots is a slow process. Only about 20 Ukrainian air force pilots will be qualified by the end of the year and that’s about half the number needed for the available aircraft. The Vipers are expected to act as a deterrence to long-range attacks from the Russian side of the line by forcing them to release their weapons from a greater distance.
