The Best F-16 US Pilot Agreed Fight For Ukraine

Lieutenant Colonel Dan Hampton intends to change the course of hostilities.

The best US F-16 fighter pilot, retired Lieutenant Colonel Dan Hampton, said he was ready to defend Ukraine in a full-scale war with Russia.

“Ukraine is fighting against Russia. This is a black and white conflict - good versus evil, there are no questions about who is right and who is wrong ... I will even go myself, I will become number one, you can count on me,” the pilot said in an interview with the Voice of America.

The retired lieutenant colonel is sure that the F-16 fighter jet could greatly change the course of Russia's big war against Ukraine, but a lot depends on the pilots.

“Ukrainian pilots are excellent pilots, but this is a very different type of modern fighter than the one they are used to. I think it takes a little time to get trained, get comfortable and master a new type, especially one as advanced as the F-16. Before the war, an average Ukrainian pilot had 40-50 flight hours per year. When I operated the F-16, I had 200-300 hours a year, not counting the battles,” said the military.

Colonel Hampton added that each US pilot goes through training for about 2.5 years before joining a fighter squadron and starting real operations. The government spends up to $10 million for each pilot.

“It’s for one pilot to go through everything from basic flight school and all the rest of the training on the F-16, F-15 or F-35, and then get into a squadron,” he explained.

Hampton believes that Ukrainian pilots who speak English can be trained in 4 to 6 months.

The pilot also added that it is important for Ukraine to control the airspace.

“No one has ever won a war from the air. I've seen these attempts before. Our countries have tried. You can't win a war from the air, but you can lose a war if you don't control the airspace,” he said.

Who is Dan Hampton

Dan Hampton nicknamed Two Dogs. He fought in the Persian Gulf, Kosovo and Iraq wars. During a 20-year career in the US Air Force, he made 151 sorties.

Hampton has the most military honours by any US fighter pilot since the Vietnam War with a Purple Heart, four Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor for extraordinary heroism, and eighth Air Medals with Valor in air combat.

Dan Hampton also trained pilots to operate the F-16s in the Middle East and was an information exchange officer at the Egyptian Air Force. The pilot advises the US and allied governments on counterterrorism and was the CEO of the MVI International PMC.

Hampton's autobiographical book the Viper Pilot: A Memoir of Air Combat became a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into a dozen languages. He also has other The Hunter Killers, The Flight, Chasing The Demon, and Operation Vengeance.