Ukraine is exploring the possibility of recruiting retired NATO fighter pilots to supplement the country’s beleaguered air force.
The initiative will specifically target aviators qualified on the single-engined Lockheed Martin F-16 jet, which the Ukrainian air force (UAF) recently began operating, according to two US lawmakers briefed on the plan.
Senators Richard Blumenthal and Lindsey Graham met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky during a 12 August visit to Kyiv, during which the pilot recruitment idea was discussed.
“President Zelensky told us both that he would be looking to supplement his air force by establishing a programme to enlist retired NATO F-16 fighter pilots,” the pair of legislators said following the visit. “We support this effort.”
Ukraine began operating its first F-16s earlier this month, more than a year after Denmark and the Netherlands first committed to providing Kyiv with the combat aircraft from their own fleets. Belgium and Norway have subsequently pledged more fighters, with the USA stepping in to help train pilots and maintainers.
Only a small number of F-16s are believed to have been turned over thus far, although nearly 100 aircraft have been pledged to Ukraine in total. France has also committed a number of its older Dassault Mirage 2000 jets.
While those aircraft can be made ready in fairly short order, training UAF aviators to operate the jets safely and effectively has proven to be a much slower process, delaying the arrival of the much-needed air combat capability to frontline service.
This appears to be the reason for Ukraine’s overture to Western officials regarding the recruitment of experienced F-16 aviators.
However, it is unclear whether such employment would run afoul of security restrictions placed upon military aviators, who are privy to sensitive information on aircraft systems and tactics.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter. However, Western governments have previously taken a hard stance against retired pilots working in foreign employment.
Authorities in Washington have in recent months moved to punish foreign entities employing former NATO pilots for the purposes of providing flight training to Chinese nationals.
Former Royal Air Force fighter pilot Craig Penrice tells FlightGlobal he was forced to shutter his company – UK-based Livingston Aerospace – after the firm was named by US regulators as being associated with the Test Flying Academy of South Africa. The flight school was sanctioned by Washington in 2023 over the alleged training of Chinese military pilots.
An intelligence dossier released in June by security agencies in the USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia claimed Beijing is using “lucrative contracts” with vague terms to obscure its role in the effort.
While NATO members are clearly on better terms with Kyiv, after providing Ukraine’s armed forces with billions of dollars’ worth of powerful weapons, security concerns over Western citizens with sensitive military knowledge flying in contested airspace over Russian forces may prove too high-risk.
Should former NATO pilots be shot down and captured, they would become hostages for Russian president Vladimir Putin to use in any future ceasefire negotiations and be subject to interrogation regarding military secrets.
The Ukrainian army is currently advancing inside sovereign Russian territory in the Kursk region, heightening the risk to aviators supporting the thrust.
However, senators Graham and Blumenthal seem undeterred, calling on the USA and NATO to “accelerate the gains” made by Ukraine in recent weeks through additional military support.
The pair say they will propose legislation in September to legally formalise a security agreement reached between the White House and Kyiv in July.
Also discussed was the prospect of economic cooperation agreement between the USA and Ukraine covering the export of strategic minerals, including several critical to defence and aerospace manufacturing. These include lithium, titanium and other rare-earth metals that are found in Ukraine.
“An agreement with Ukraine in this area would make the US less dependent on foreign adversaries for rare-earth minerals,” Blumenthal and Graham say.
They add such a deal would be a boon for Ukraine’s struggling wartime economy.
