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UK plans to aid Ukraine with fighter jets meet reality as RAF struggles to train its own pilots

9th February 2023 - 14:00 GMT | by Norbert Neumann in London

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A leaked document showed that only 11 trainee pilots went through the UK training pipeline last year despite it having 43 available slots. (Photo: UK MoD/Crown Copyright)

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said offering fighter jets to Ukraine is not 'off the table' and pledged to provide pilot training, while the Royal Air Force itself is struggling to get its own aviators through the training pipeline.

The UK announced on 8 February that it will extend the training offered for Ukrainian forces to include fighter jet pilots.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said ‘nothing is off the table’ when it comes to sending fighter jets to Ukraine and has formally requested Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to look into which RAF jets could be provided to the Ukrainian Air Force.

The UK MoD said the new training efforts will ensure that Ukrainian pilots can fly NATO-standard fighter jets in the future as gaining advanced air combat capabilities remains high on Kyiv’s wish list.

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