Ukrainian pilots in Canada prep for F-16 and Gripen jets

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited a group of Ukrainian military pilots training in Canada on September 12, 2026, ahead of their eventual transition to Western fighter jets including the F-16 and Sweden’s Gripen.

Four L-39 training jets flown by Ukrainian cadets performed a flyover to greet him at the airfield.

The visit took place at the International Test Pilots School, based at Jack Garland Airport in North Bay, Ontario. Zelensky climbed into a flight simulator during the stop, and Ukrainian pilots walked him through how the L-39 handles compared with the Soviet-era aircraft most of them trained on originally. Instructors also briefed him on aircraft maintenance, life-support systems and pilot equipment used at the school.

The school has trained Ukrainian pilots for the transition to F-16s and Gripens since April 2025. Twenty-one Ukrainian service members are currently enrolled, flying L-39 jets through the third and fourth phases of flight training that come before pilots move on to modern combat aircraft. According to the pilots, training flights happen nearly every day, depending on how many aircraft are available.

“We’re very proud that Ukraine, that our armed forces, have this generation of young pilots,” Zelensky said. “Thank you to everyone along the way, in the training process, on the training grounds, who is raising the level of each one of you.”

“I really want you to gain exactly this kind of experience, modern experience,” Zelensky said. “We already have not just F-16s. Gripens will arrive this year. Some other aircraft will arrive over time. But probably what matters most is the level of our pilots.”

Zelensky’s claim that Gripens will reach Ukraine before the end of 2026 sits ahead of the timeline Swedish officials have given publicly. Sweden and Ukraine signed a letter of intent in October 2025 covering the eventual sale of up to 150 Gripen E fighters over the next 10 to 15 years. Separately, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced in May 2026 that Sweden would donate 16 used Gripen C/D aircraft to Ukraine, with delivery set for early 2027, a date later than the arrival Zelensky described. It remains unclear whether any Gripen will actually reach Ukraine before the end of this year.

The International Test Pilots School was founded in the United Kingdom in 1986 and relocated to Canada in 2001. It trains test pilots, flight-test engineers and military aviators from more than 25 countries, and Zelensky thanked the foreign instructors working alongside the Ukrainian pilots there.

The pilot training visit was part of a broader stop in Canada that also included a Ukrainian drone-technology showcase in Alberta alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Neither the Ukrainian nor Canadian government has said how many pilots the North Bay program is expected to graduate this year or when the current class will finish the final phases of training before moving on to F-16 or Gripen conversion courses.