Danish pilot trained Ukrainians to fly F-16s: several shot down

A Danish fighter pilot has revealed details of the secret training of Ukrainian pilots on Denmark’s donated F-16 jets, acknowledging that several of his students have since been killed in combat.

In a new DR documentary, Jagerpilotens sidste mission, Thomas “MET” Kristensen, one of Denmark’s most experienced fighter pilots, describes the unprecedented scale of the training programme at Skrydstrup Air Base. Denmark donated 19 F-16s to Ukraine in August 2023.

Kristensen, who led the training alongside two colleagues, said the Ukrainian pilots lacked the typical background of F-16 trainees—years of preparation and fluent English. Many had only basic English skills, making the task of mastering the advanced aircraft in a short time immense.

“This project is completely out of scale compared to anything I’ve done in the military before,” he said. “It’s beyond what you’d expect could be achieved.”

The training followed Denmark’s 2023 donation, intended, as then-Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated, “to help keep your airspace safe.” Ukrainian pilots, accustomed to different aircraft, required rapid familiarisation with the F-16.

From the start, Kristensen and his team recognised the high stakes. They deliberately avoided forming close personal bonds with the trainees, knowing many might not survive. “We realised it probably wasn’t wise to get too personally attached,” he said. “We knew what they were returning to, and that not all of them would be alive a year later.”

Before their deployment, Kristensen gave them a parting warning: “Don’t be brave, be clever, be smart. Don’t go home and try to prove something—use what we’ve taught you. Think carefully, or it could go horribly wrong in war.”

His advice was not enough. One of his students, a pilot with the call sign “Pinocchio,” was shot down and killed. So were several others. Kristensen, who has logged 4,000 flight hours in the F-16, had hoped to one day congratulate “Pinocchio” on reaching 1,000 hours in the aircraft. “It’s strange when you suddenly stop hearing from someone, and then you find out the next day it was him who was hit,” he said. “It’s still shocking that a fair number of those who passed through us have flown their last flight in an F-16.”

The Danish Defence has declined to comment on the fate of the Ukrainian pilots, referring inquiries to Ukraine’s military. Ukraine’s Air Force Command did not respond to DR’s request for comment before publication.