Maintainers loaded weapons onto F-15 Eagles during an exercise Aug. 22-23, 2016, at Kadena Air Base, Japan.

Maintainers loaded weapons onto F-15 Eagles during an exercise Aug. 22-23, 2016, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Peter Reft

Fighter Pilots Aren’t Flying Enough to Hone the Skills of Full-Spectrum War

The Air Force is losing training time, experienced teachers, and its combat edge.

During his confirmation hearing, U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein said his service could not surge enough combat-ready forces to conduct a single major regional contingency operation without stripping other regions of the airmen and aircraft needed to meet their basic security needs. He further noted that less than half of Air Force combat units are ready for “full-spectrum” (high threat, high intensity) combat. This lack of readiness could jeopardize the lives of aircrews and other service members who depend upon them in combat, and put mission-essential tasks at greater risk. 

How did it come to this? Fighter force readiness has been declining since 2003, but it took a big dive in fiscal 2013, when funding cuts forced the Air Force to temporarily ground half of its active-duty, combat-coded squadrons and reduce overall flying hours by 18 percent.

It got worse. In 2014, additional cuts led to shortages of spare parts and aircraft maintenance workers. Fighter pilots, who once averaged over 200 flying hours a year, struggled to get 120 hours that year.

Last year, the average rose to 150 hours with a slight uptick in funding and by rolling in the surge of flying time accumulated during combat deployments. Flying in a combat environment may sound like an incredible opportunity to employ and refine high-end skillsets, but it isn’t. The vast majority of a fighter pilot’s time in a cockpit over Iraq, Afghanistan, or Syria is spent holding (loitering), waiting to be employed in that low-threat environment. While they fly much more frequently, the opportunity to actually drop munitions comes infrequently. And after they return home, those pilots often average less than one sortie a week.

Fly three sorties a week, and pilots are just able to sustain their baseline faculties. Fly four sorties a week – at least 200 hours a year—and they get better at everything.

To put this into context, in the 1980s and ’90s, Air Force fighter pilots averaged three to four sorties a week, flying over 200 hours a year in order to achieve “full spectrum capable” readiness. It enabled them not just to sustain proficiency, but to improve their skills.

There’s a pretty well-accepted formula for this. When pilots fly only two sorties per week (averaging slightly over 100 hours per year), their skills decrease with every passing week and the likelihood they will be effective or even survive in combat drops precipitously. Fly three sorties a week, and they sustain their baseline faculties. Fly four sorties a week – at least 200 hours a year—and they get better at everything.

Simulators have improved significantly over the years and the fidelity, threat array, and contact ranges of fifth-generation sims overcome the challenges of limited range space and physical assets available in the continental U.S. However, the fidelity of F-16, F-15, and A-10 sims will never measure up to those available for the F-22 and the F-35. No pilot interviewed believed any simulator could replace the need for time in the air – it could only be used as a supplement.

The current state of Air Force fighter unreadiness is one we haven’t witnessed since the Carter Administration.

So last year’s average of 150 flight hours per year, just under three a week, means that most pilots are training to a level the Air Force considered not ready for combat in the ’80s and ’90s. Moreover, units currently deployed to (or spinning up for) the fight in the Middle East, are training for low-threat, close-air-support missions—and that training doesn’t sharpen full-spectrum skill sets. Once in the Persian Gulf region, whatever high-threat, high-intensity faculties they possess will continue to fade for the duration of their deployment. Upon their return home, they will fly as little as one sortie a week—a rate that allows even mundane/administrative flying skills to become rusty.

The current state of Air Force fighter unreadiness is one we haven’t witnessed since the Carter Administration. And the long-term impact of a 13-year starvation diet on the faculties, retention, and mindset of our fighter force should be setting off klaxons. But we aren’t hearing any.

We can further note the effects on three specific areas:

Faculties. Learning the ins and outs of executing fighter tactics, techniques and procedures requires hands-on knowledge/instruction which is handed down by ever-cascading generations of fighter pilots. A fighter pilot’s skill set generally peaks after seven years in the cockpit, at which point most pilots move on to staff, leadership and Professional Military Education assignments. As those pilots cycle out of the cockpit, they pass on their experience and mindsets to the next generation. But the last time Air Force fighters flew in, or consistently trained for, a high threat environment was in March 2003. By next spring, two full generations of fighter pilots will have come and gone since high-threat, high-intensity operations were part of their regular training regimen.

Retention. The low sortie rates and emphasis on additional duties (administrative tasks assigned to aircrews that do not further or even involve the flying mission) has helped bring the current Air Force pilot shortfall to 700—a number that is heading to 1,000. It takes two years for an individual to become an operational fighter pilot, but it will take far more than that to regain the experience lost through this flight of talent.

Mindset. The greatest loss suffered through this period can’t be fully quantified, and that is in a fighter pilot’s unquenchable thirst for more time in the air. During a recent survey of 20 operational fighter pilots, the average pilot expressed the belief that 14 hours of flying time a month (170 hours a year) would be sufficient to prepare pilots for “full spectrum” operations.  Two decades ago, fighter pilots on active duty knew that wouldn’t suffice, and they demanded more sorties, even when the average pilot flew well over 200 hours a year.

Air Force leaders know that our pilots need more flying time. They will likely petition the next administration to increase funding so they can get it. The challenge is to get that increase to the service in time to reheat a mindset in the current generation of pilots for absolute dominance in air warfare.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.