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French Mirage Jets Arrive in Ukraine
Just in time.
I really wish they had done this sooner. Most of us — including Europe — thought the Ukrainian Air Force would get a reasonable number of F-16s and fully trained pilots to fly them. But the proposal got tangled in bureaucracy, going through one too many hoops.
At least 60 F-16s were pledged by various partners, but a training fiasco turned the situation into a disgrace. Less than a squadron of pilots were actually trained. Former U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan blamed Ukraine for not having enough pilots ready for training.
I guess all the pilots France trained over the last seven months were stashed away in heaven before dropping into reality.
Anyway, the point is, Ukraine took a while to realize that Jake Sullivan would not eventually shift his stance and allow an adequate number of pilots to be trained. That’s when they turned their attention to French President Emmanuel Macron. Fortunately, they met a very different Macron from the one they dealt with in 2023.
During the D-Day celebrations last June, France made a flurry of announcements. They promised to train and fully equip a Ukrainian brigade. They also committed to delivering French Mirage jets to Ukraine and training Ukrainian pilots to fly them.
