US Air Force meets 1,500-pilot annual training target with civilian school help

The US Air Force expects to produce more than 1,500 new pilots in 2026, the first time in years it has hit that annual target, according to the service's chief of staff, General Kenneth Wilsbach.

Speaking at the annual Air & Space Forces Association conference, Wilsbach said the goal had gone unmet for a long stretch. "We just couldn't generate enough pilots," he said.

The change is tied to a revised instruction programme the service calls Pilot Training Next. Under it, Part-141 civilian flight schools now deliver much of a new aviator's early qualifications, including the private pilot licence, instrument rating and commercial rating. Air Education and Training Command says that phase covers a trainee's first 120 hours of flying. Students then return to the air force for military flight training on the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II to earn their wings, before following the established pipeline into fighter, bomber or mobility aircraft and later speciality training. According to Wilsbach, the approach has let the service generate the number of pilots it needs each year.

The shortage will not be resolved at once. Years of deficits mean the service lacks trained aviators who would by now be well into their careers in senior planning and advisory posts. Lieutenant General Clark Quinn, the AETC commander, said most of the gap sits in staff positions held by personnel with 15 to 20 years of service, and closing it will take 15 to 20 years.