Flyger- og mekanikermangel i flere NATO land - AW&ST

Canadian Fighter Shortfalls Highlight Pilot Retention Challenges Tony Osborne An audit of Canada’s fighter force highlights the grim reality faced by all air forces as they struggle to recruit and retain pilots and engineers. The report by Canada’s auditor general, published on Nov. 20, notes that pilot and engineer shortages have left the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) unable to meet the requirements set out by Ottawa. The report states that up to 22% of RCAF technician positions are either vacant or filled by personnel not yet fully qualified to do maintenance work and that the departure of experienced technicians had worsened the McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet fleet’s availability, pushing maintenance hours per flight to 24 in 2018, up from 21 in 2014. Departure of Canadian fighter pilots is outstripping training capacity Pilot recruitment and retention has become an international problem Worse still, the audit found that the RCAF only has 64% of the pilots it needs to meet government requirements. Pilots appear to be leaving en masse, with 40 departing the CF-18 community just between April 2016 and March 2018. Another 17 have left, or stated an intention to leave, since March 2018. Since April 2016, the air force has only managed to produce 30 pilots to replace them. “If CF-18 pilots continue to leave at the current rate, there will not be enough experienced pilots to train the next generation of fighter pilots,” the report states, adding that the shortage could threaten Ottawa’s commitments both to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and NATO. Arguably, Canada’s problems are in part self-inflicted: Air force budgets have not included any major investments in the Hornet fleet since 2008, while a replacement fighter is not expected in service until the late 2020s. While Canada’s pilot issues might be at the extreme, the country is certainly not alone. The U.S. Air Force says it has a shortfall of 1,200 fighter pilots and about 2,000 pilots overall, including in transport and support fleets. There are similar issues in the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Army. Commanders say highly experienced pilots are leaving for a more stable family life and better pay in the commercial world. The high tempo of long stints on overseas operations and deployments, particularly in the Middle East, also has affected morale.

A lack of pilots and technicians is putting the brakes on the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Hornet operations. Credit: Cpl. Bryan Carter/Royal Canadian Air Force

Replacing that experience has also been difficult, particularly with the Air Force training system struggling after a series of hypoxia incidents that suspended training operations during investigations. The issues have prompted the Air Force to consider outsourcing some training. In the UK, the Apache attack helicopter community has wrestled with pilot retention, particularly during operations in Afghanistan. More of a challenge, however, is the UK training system’s need to cope with the uptick in training required as the Royal Air Force expands its Eurofighter Typhoon fleet and brings in new capabilities such as the Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. As a result, the UK is sending student fighter pilots to the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program in the U.S. next year, while 100 trainees will undergo a civilian multi-engine training program being run by L3 Technologies. Germany’s studies into its Future Combat Air System (AW&ST Nov. 26-Dec. 9, p. 34) have had to consider the recruitment challenges that could be posed by more advanced and complex combat aircraft that can fly with a pilot in the cockpit or on the ground. Recruitment also is a challenge for small nations such as Bahrain. Air Vice Marshal Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa, the nation’s air chief, tells Aviation Week that only a fraction of the 150 students applying as flight cadets will pass medical exams, and only a handful will transition to the training program. The region’s fast-growing airlines are exacerbating retention problems, too. Canada’s auditors say the loss of skilled technicians has resulted in reduced flying hours. The RCAF wants its fighter pilots to fly about 140 hr. a year, but the auditors found that 28% of the pilots were flying fewer than that due to a shortage of maintenance personnel. The nation now plans to introduce 18 ex-Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18s, which the defense department says would give it more aircraft and spares, to help manage the struggling fleet while it prepares a tender for 88 new fighters. But the auditors say the purchase will not help fix the “fundamental weaknesses,” because the RCAF lacks personnel to maintain and fly any new aircraft. In statement responding to the audit’s findings posted on the RCAF’s website its commander, Lt. Gen. Al Meinzinger, said the air force plans to make increased use of contracted support for second-line maintenance in a bid to bring more than 200 service personnel to the front line. He also said that a future aircrew training program would be accelerated to speed up pilot training. Initiatives to improve quality of life for personnel also would be introduced, he said.