In front of a British Royal Air Force hangar, Business Insider watched as a tight formation of Grob Tutor training aircraft flew overhead, the whir of their propellers growing louder as they passed.
The small, two-seat plane is a modest beginning for the Ukrainian pilots on track to fly one of the most sought-after fighter jets in the world: the American-made F-16.
Dozens of Ukrainian aviators have gone through an RAF-led program in the UK, where they start on basic aircraft like the Tutor before moving on to advanced fast-jet training and eventually to the cockpit of the fourth-generation F-16 Fighting Falcon.
The progression can be intense. The Tutor training plane cruises at around 150 mph, while the F-16 is a complex supersonic combat aircraft. Ukraine has been using this fighter jet for nearly two years to defend its airspace against Russian missile and drone attacks and to conduct precision strikes on enemy positions.
Over the monthslong RAF course, the Ukrainians learn English and receive basic flight training. They are also taught to think like Western airmen, shifting from the Soviet-era mindset shaped by Sukhoi and MiG aircraft and tightly controlled missions — pervasive in Kyiv’s air force before the war — toward a style of flying that puts more decision-making in the pilot’s hands.
“We train them to operate in a Western style,” Wing Cdr. Tom, the chief flying instructor for the training program, told Business Insider last week at a graduation ceremony for the latest cohort of Ukrainian pilots. He could only be identified by his rank and first name for security reasons.
Royal Air Force
In 2024, Ukraine received its first F-16 Fighting Falcon, the first of dozens pledged by a coalition of NATO allies to modernize its arsenal of aging Soviet-era warplanes. The Ukrainian pilots are trained to operate the jet at locations in the US and Europe.
So far, more than 50 Ukrainian pilots have completed the UK’s early-stage English-language and elementary flying course, designed to prepare them for more advanced fast-jet training abroad.
RAF Air Chief Marshal Harvey Smyth, Britain’s Chief of the Air Staff, told Business Insider at the graduation event last week that the Ukrainians will build on the “incredibly important” groundwork laid during this initial training “as they go through to fighter pilot training and then straight to the front line to do the good work they’re doing in defending their home nation at the moment against Russia.”
Wing Cdr. Tom said the Ukrainians have solid aircraft-handling upon arrival in the RAF course, having flown in some capacity back home. The mentality, however, “is very different” from what a NATO trainee might bring to a pilot program.
“Back at home, they’re very much led and told what to do — get airborne, go to this place, do this exercise, come home, land,” he said. “What we’re teaching them to do is to get airborne, choose where they fly, manage their own sortie.”
“They have a certain number of objectives to fulfill, and it’s up to them how they go about fulfilling those objectives whilst flying and handling the aircraft accurately as well,” the commander added.
Ukrainian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
Getting the Ukrainians up to Western standards means reshaping the cognitive thought processes that go into flying, RAF instructors shared.
An RAF squadron leader and helicopter instructor told Business Insider that the Ukrainian pilots are taught to fly in accordance with British practices. They are also encouraged to make their own decisions once in the air.
One of the primary difficulties during the training has been the language barrier between the RAF trainers and the Ukrainians, said the instructors and pilots, whose names have been withheld for security reasons.
The RAF training course is designed to sharpen the pilots’ command of English so they can more seamlessly transition to advanced jet training. While the most recent cohort arrived with some proficiency, they said communication can still be a challenge at times.
The Ukrainian aviators have embraced the training program, recognizing that the stakes are high and the need for well-trained pilots goes beyond personal passions for flying.
“We know that it’s our duty to protect our country, to protect our airspace, and to finish this war,” one of the Ukrainian pilots told Business Insider.
