Last month, a Mobile Training Team of NATO’s Allied Air Command travelled to Mykolaiv, Ukraine.
The Alliance say that the aim of this mission was to share expertise and experience with thirty members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on how different branches of armed forces work together in joint operations.
“The Mobile Training Team consisted of an officer of Allied Air Command’s Military Partnership Branch and three subject matter experts on air operations.
Visits of Mobile Training Teams to NATO partner countries like Ukraine are highly beneficial for both Allies and partners as they enhance mutual trust and interoperability. Partnership visits are also a unique opportunity to share experience.”
NATO say its members have been continuously developing and improving joint operational procedures.
“While Ukraine could benefit from implementing those procedures, NATO is also keen to learn from partners’ experience. For several years, Allied Air Command has sent Mobile Training Teams to Ukraine to conduct training on various aspects of air operations.”
“It is always a rewarding experience working with our Ukrainian partners,” said Colonel Thierry Coupeau, head of Allied Air Command’s Military Partnership Branch, in a news release.
“What we are achieving together goes beyond enhancing practical collaboration in the field of Air Power. The strengthening of trust and friendship with forces from partner countries is a contribution to NATO’s overall effort of increasing Euro-Atlantic stability and is a clear achievement of NATO’s third core task, cooperative security,” he added.
Ukraine has been a NATO partner for many years and plays an active role in Allied Air Command’s partnership network.
Ukraine has a big military aswell biggest in Europe I think, Altogether the Ukrainian Armed Forces included about 780,000 personnel and 6,500 tanks, about 7,000 combat armored vehicles, 1,500 combat aircraft, and more than 350 ships. Pretty impressive, no doubt most because of best friend Mother Russia.
Just curious where are you getting your stats from cam? They seem very optimistic compared to what wiki say. Its navy only has 1 main combat frigate .and the rest are just over 50 ships and boats.Its air forces most migs where taken by the Russians, and tanks numbers look like 3000 odd according to wiki.
Type into google “Ukrainian millitary” and it comes up with those numbers!! But after checking their airforce for starters only has 144 aircraft total not 1500!. EDIT: that’s actually 1992 numbers above! So they did have a huge millitary if they are correct and probably biggest in Europe?
When they separated from the USSR probably. Those numbers I guess are legacy fleets.
Ah crap m8 thats actually 1992 numbers!!
Ah ok
..
Most of that equipment was stolen and sold off in the 90s all over the world. What wasn’t they didn’t maintain and let rot in the equipment yards.
Russia once Putin took power underwent defense reforms and began repairing both the Military itself and their MIC. Ukraine didn’t attempt to until 2014 and even then most of the reforms have been superficial. The biggest problem the Ukraine has is keeping equipment from being stolen before it even reaches the front lines. Yet another issue for the Ukraine is many of their munitions factories were in the East and were staffed by Russian speakers.
Ukraine’s military has been decimated what remains is only because Russia hasn’t finished it. No amount of cooperation with nato will change that situation
On the other hand russia just lost a shitload of ammo in some impressive explosions so the balance has altered ever so slightly
I bet they were really chuffed when the Germans turned up to teach them how to run their air force…
The Ukrainian armed forces have been working hard to get more of their kit overhauled and back into service.
They sensibly kept many of their combat aircraft in well preserved storage.
A Russian invasion is still very much on the cards afterall, especially if Putin thinks they are going to join the EU and NATO.
It’s unthinkable for them.
John – yes Ukraine is in a precarious situation, when the Russian Forces intervened Vladimir Putin boasted that if they actually wanted to Russians could be in Kiev within a fortnight.This might not be the case now but any serious conflict between the two would probably result in a victory for Russia, albeit over a longer period.
Ukraine’s defence budget is now $8 billion, at 6% of GDP.
Info on the Ukraine Air Force see link:
https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/ukraines-air-force-rebuilds-amid-war.html