New video shows how Ukrainian pilots are figuring out how to fly the F-16 in between their combat missions

• A new video shows how Ukrainian pilots are training to fly F-16s with VR and trainer aircraft.
• Some pilots are training in person abroad while others learn the F-16 in between flying combat missions.

A new video from the Ukrainian Air Force shows how pilots are training to fly F-16 fighter jets with flight simulations, virtual reality headsets, and trainer aircraft — all in between flying their regular missions countering the Russian invasion.

The video, posted Wednesday, offers a look into the challenges facing Kyiv's pilots as they adjust to a new, more complex aircraft and adapt to NATO standard controls, weapons systems, and flight controls.

"While our brothers master the F-16s abroad, the Ukrainian Air Force fighter pilots continue to protect the Ukrainian sky and destroy the occupiers on the ground. In their free time, the pilots get to know the cockpit of the F-16 in virtual reality and perform joint missions over the territory of Ukraine in sections, flights, and squadrons while being in different regions of Ukraine," the Air Force wrote in the YouTube video. Pilots have also been taking English language classes in between missions in order to learn the F-16's controls and terminology.

The video opens by spotlighting the need to learn the ins and outs of the American-made F-16. "All of us understand that the future belongs to F-16 aircraft or the other aircraft which our partners will provide us with," Andrii, a Su-27 fighter-pilot, says, according to the English subtitles provided by the Ukrainian Air Force. "That's why we need to train now, learn the cockpit equipment, armament system, and its employment."

Pilots can then be seen training on F-16 flight simulators with VR headsets and an aircraft control stick. The virtual reality system positions the pilot inside the F-16 cockpit and allows them to get a sense of the space around them and how to operate the jet.

The importance of the VR system, according to a training command representative, is to allow pilots to "make the best of those free minutes of training" that can be found between missions, adding that once personnel get a feel for the jet, they can be sent to Ukraine's partner countries to finish training on real F-16s.

Even in the VR training, pilots notice an immediate difference between their Soviet jets and the Western plane. The flight control stick — somewhat resembling a joystick — is on the right side, not in the middle. It takes pilots time to adjust to the difference and learn how sensitive the controls of the aircraft can be.

Another major difference is the difference between Soviet analog instruments and the F-16's more advanced cockpit featuring a mixture of systems. "We have quite a lot of switches, we use almost all of them," Andrii says, describing a Su-27. "The F-16 aircraft have both digital and several analog instruments.'"

The F-16 was originally designed in the 1970s, although it has been updated over the years. Ukrainian pilots started training on the jets last month after the US finally approved the delivery of the aircraft to Kyiv. Several NATO partners plan to contribute aircraft from their stockpiles, but it's still unclear when they'll actually arrive in Ukraine. Some US officials have suggested it won't be until at least 2024.

Although the effectiveness of F-16s for Ukraine has been heavily debated — with many experts suggesting that it'll come down to the missiles equipped and the missions the jet is used for — the Western aircraft will still be a boost for Kyiv's aging arsenal of Soviet-designed aircraft and allow them to integrate their air capabilities with the US and its NATO partners.