Ukrainian F-16 pilot 'encountered reality' after NATO training and had to devise own tactics instead

""The tactics that we were taught abroad do not entirely fit the war we have here, because those tactics are also based on wars in which the partners previously took part," the pilot said. "And this war is fundamentally different from those wars." Ukrainian pilots had to devise their own tactics, he said. "How we would destroy cruise missiles, strike drones, how we would fight with the enemy near the line of combat contact," the pilot added."

""When the partners see our effectiveness, they understand how, in our limited conditions, we are able to carry out flights with such effectiveness," he said. "And they even, I would say, learn from us. They learn the tactics and adjust the tactics that they taught us when we were abroad.""

Ukrainian pilots trained on Western F-16s found NATO-standard tactics mismatched to conditions of war with Russia. Many returned after flying Soviet-made aircraft at the war's outset and adapted tactics to local realities. Pilots developed new methods for intercepting and destroying cruise missiles and strike drones and for engaging near the frontline. Those improvised tactics delivered effective sorties despite constrained conditions. Western partners observed Ukrainian effectiveness, learned from the adaptations, and adjusted some of the tactics taught abroad. Specific operational details were not disclosed, though pilots reported employing bold maneuvers in combat.

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