By Staff, Agencies

The United States announced that it will begin training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 warplanes soon amid a race by Washington and its allies to provide Kiev with the American supersonic aircraft.

“These pilots will be conducting English language training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas in September prior to attending F-16 flying training in Arizona| the following month, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said on Thursday.

The training will involve “several pilots and dozens of personnel to maintain the aircraft,” he added.

“Given the complexities and the specialized English that's required to fly these aircraft,” Ryder said, English language training is set to start in September at the Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio, Texas, before flying training in Arizona in October.

This comes as US President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday, discussing the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets in the United States.

“President Biden reiterated the US commitment to support Ukraine's defense against Russian aggression for as long as it takes, and to hold Russia accountable for its actions,” a White House statement said after the phone call.

“On behalf of the American people, President Biden expressed his admiration for the bravery and sacrifice of the Ukrainian people fighting for their freedom and their secure future.”

Last week, the United States told Denmark and the Netherlands they could transfer their F-16s to Ukraine when the country's pilots are trained to use them.

Late at the weekend, Copenhagen and The Hague announced that they would provide Ukraine with a number of F-16 fighter jets. Six of the promised jets will initially be delivered around New Year.

Also, on Thursday, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Oslo would join the array of countries that are slated to ship the single-engine aircraft to Ukraine.