Scaling up the aviation personnel training system in 2025

Throughout 2025, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, in cooperation with international partners and national educational institutions, implemented a set of measures to strengthen the personnel capacity of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and unmanned systems units.

As reported by Oleksandr Kozenko, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine for aviation capability development, agreements reached within the Air Force Coalition enabled the completion of training for several groups of Ukrainian pilots, who mastered modern foreign aircraft platforms. The training programs were adapted to reflect real combat experience and NATO interoperability standards.

In addition to flight personnel, the following personnel were trained abroad:

• engineering and technical specialists responsible for maintaining the operational readiness of advanced aircraft;
• ground support and logistics personnel;
• a group of operators of specialized equipment for working with high-technology monitoring and reconnaissance systems.

A key achievement of 2025 was the rollout of a network of certified training centers across Ukraine. This was enabled by the implementation of Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1129 dated October 1, 2024, establishing an experimental project to certify schools for unmanned systems operators.

Certified status was granted to eight leading training organizations, while the total number of institutions authorized to train specialists reached 34, including 19 centers focused on UAVs.

Through the engagement of private and state instructor schools, more than 5,000 operators of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) were trained in 2025.

In parallel with drone operators, the national training system provided training for nearly one hundred pilot cadets, who are expected to become the core of the modernized Air Force.

Following testing and qualification examinations, 437 state-issued certificates were awarded to aviation personnel, confirming compliance with the highest professional standards.

“Systematic training of personnel is the foundation of our advantage in the air. We are not only integrating Western platforms, but also building our own autonomous training ecosystem capable of rapidly supplying the frontline with qualified personnel—from fighter pilots to FPV drone operators,” emphasized Oleksandr Kozenko.