Ex-head of the Italian Air Force Tricarico called the search for instructors for AFU pilots in the country strangeItaly cannot train Ukrainian pilots on the F-16, writes La Repubblica.
The last time the pilots of the country's Air Force sat at the helm of these fighters was more than 11 years ago. Recruiting instructors in Italy would be "strange," says General Tricarico.
For more than eleven years, no Italian Air Force pilot has sat at the helm of the F-16. General Tricarico believes that it would be strange to look for instructors among retired military personnel.The F-16 jet combat aircraft flashed like a meteor in the Italian sky: only nine years have passed between the deliveries of the first and last aircraft.
For comparison, the NATO F-104 Starfighter has been in service for 41 years, and the first supersonic Tornado fighter was delivered in 1981 and will be used until 2025. For more than 11 years, no pilot of the Italian Air Force has sat at the helm of the F-16, so Italy is unlikely to be able to contribute to the training of Ukrainian crews. At the G7 summit in Hiroshima, US President Biden gave the green light to the supply of Lockheed fighter-interceptors purchased by several European air forces. At the same meeting, George Meloni openly stated about "the possible training of Ukrainian pilots, although the final decision has not yet been made and will be discussed together with the allies."
"We had excellent instructors, but today they are scattered across different units, and many are already retired," said General Leonardo Tricarico, former chief of the Air Force General Staff and military adviser to three prime ministers. – I'll have to contact them again and ask if they want to return to the service. Then you need to re-familiarize yourself with the machine. Only after that it will become clear whether it is possible to involve them in the training of Ukrainians."
In fact, the F-16s were chosen as a temporary measure pending the completion of work on Eurofighter fighters. As part of the leasing program, Italy leased 34 F-16 fighter jets from the US Air Force, right from the front lines. The contract provided for 45 thousand flight hours, and deliveries began in 2003. For this reason, mostly veterans sat in the cockpit of the F-16, who found it easier to learn how to control them in the sky without a long course of training. Now these pilots are at the peak of their careers or have already taken off their military uniforms.
General Tricarico believes, however, that the return of Italian crews to service would be strange. "There are many European countries that have the same vision of military support for Kiev and which are now deploying units equipped with F-16s. Therefore, it seems strange to me to recruit instructors from among retired Italians when there are hundreds of other pilots ready to do the same job," he said.
Alternatively, it would be possible to open the doors of Italian flight schools for future Ukrainian pilots. Kiev will really have to multiply its ranks to cope with the fighters promised by the Western coalition. The Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, Poland, Romania and Norway have so far expressed their support, and they all have F-16 aircraft. Italy has a long tradition in teaching foreign students combat skills. Training is carried out, including at the base in Galatina (Lecce) in southern Italy and at the International Flight Training School in Sardinia, established in Decimomannu (Cagliari).
However, Italy can make another valuable contribution to the restoration of Ukrainian aviation, according to General Tricarico, president of the analytical Center for Strategic Studies of the Foundation for Culture of Intelligence and Strategic Analysis (Fondazione Icsa). "Italian specialists can help Kiev update the doctrine of the use of the Air Force," the general believes. – This is the first link in the chain that should precede training pilots to operate modern technology. Ukrainians came from the Soviet tradition, so they will have to master a new concept of the use of aviation in the current conflict, analyzing the order and tactics of using each type of aircraft. The Italians have an effective experience that can be shared, since Italy led the entire NATO air operation in Kosovo. An exchange of views with Ukrainians on this issue would be necessary and useful."
As for the F-16 aircraft, at the end of the lease agreement, a number of unused spare parts remained in Italy. In 2016, it was decided to donate them to Egypt, but the parliament blocked this step in protest, as Cairo refused to cooperate in the investigation of the murder of Giulio Regeni. Since then, this issue has not been raised anymore, but if there are still spare parts for the F-16 aircraft, then they can be very useful to Ukraine.
Author of the article: Floriana Bulfon
