Ukrainian F-16 pilots studying English at Lackland
Ukrainian pilots have arrived at Joint Base San Antonio-lackland to start Englishlanguage training.
They’re here as part of a Biden administration initiative to provide F-16 fighters to Ukraine to support the country in its war with Russia. A group of Ukrainian pilots and mechanics will take classes at the Defense Language Institute at Lackland AFB as they prepare to fly the jet.
The Air Force confirmed their arrival on Friday.
An Air Force spokeswoman, Christa D’andrea, said the institute “began training a small number of Ukrainian pilots” in general and specialized English this week. “Proficiency testing will determine their next language courses and when the pilots could move on to F-16 training,” she said.
The Air Force would not say how many pilots were at Lackland. The aim is to help them attain sufficient mastery of the language to fly and maintain the supersonic jet, one of the top fighters in America’s arsenal.
After that, they’ll go to Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Ariz., for flight instruction.
The F-16 is flown by the Texas Air National Guard’s 149th Fighter Wing, based at Lackland.
Some Ukrainian pilots speak English, but it’s expected that they would need additional instruction “given the complexities and the specialized English that’s required to fly these aircraft,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said last month when the training effort was announced.
The Defense Language Institute is a hub of international students who go there to learn enough English to operate the weapons systems the United States has supplied to their countries. It’s the first military training stop in the U.S. for many international allies and partners and draws students from more than 80 countries.
The institute’s English Language Center has three sections: general English, specialized English and advanced English. Training periods range from nine weeks in the specialized English course to a year for general English. A typical class day is six hours of instruction, including the use of a computer-based language laboratory.