미국 군사매체가 미군 F-16 교관과 인터뷰 한
바에 따르면 F-18을 조종 해본 조종사라 해도
F-16으로 공대공, 공대지 작전 하는 걸 습득
하는데 69일이 걸린답니다.
미국 전투기 말고 소련제 전투기만 조종 해본
경우엔 제대로 작전 수행할 수준이 되려면
최소 1년은 걸린다 하구요.
그리고, 민감한 군사기술이 러시아에 넘어갈 수
있는 걸 미국 정부가 우려 한다 하니 F-16 초기형
이상의 기체를 우크라이나에 주기가 쉽지 않겠죠.
This Is How Long It Would Really Take Ukraine’s Pilots To Convert To F-16s
2023.02.08
The full F-16 Basic Course, also known as the B-Course, is typically a
nine-month process for pilots fresh out of pilot training. Broadly it
consists of academics, time in the simulator, and live sorties.
In addition to B-Courses, the Formal Training Units (FTUs) also run
transition courses for pilots with experience in other jets ? these are
typically far shorter than the full B-Course.
For experienced Ukrainian fighter pilots, a type conversion to the F-16
could resemble a typical FTU transition conversion course, known as TX.
“For a pilot with around 500 hours experience in a Western fighter, but
that has never previously flown the F-16? someone transitioning from
the Hornet for example? without any breaks, working weekends, etc,
they need 69 days to learn everything to safely employ the Viper in
air-to-air and air-to-ground roles,” commented an experienced F-16
instructor.
“The MiG-29 to a Block 50 or Mid-Life Upgrade Viper isn’t a big step in
performance, but it’s a huge leap in technology ? the weapons and avionics.
Even after 69 days of intense training, that’s only a wingman qual [qualification],
so who is going to lead the mision? Do you just send them off as a rogue
single-ship to try and shoot down anything with more than one vertical tail?
To be super effective, you at least need a four-ship, and to lead that needs
at least a year of intensive training? then you can crush the opposition.”
AMRAAM and smart weapons would clearly be a massive capability leap
for the air force, but if pegged back to flying low-level misions at long
range from the air threat, even AMRAAM could be impotent.
“I see AMRAAM as a potential political sticking point that's even greater
than the Patriot missile transfer,” says one F-16 pilot.
The Biden administration remains wary of allowing sensitive U.S. technology
to fall into Russian hands on the battlefield.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/this-is-how-long-it-would-really-take-ukraines-pilots-to-convert-to-f-16s