US Air Force says pilot shortfall may take up to 20 years to close

The U.S. Air Force is short about 2,407 pilots, a gap that will take 15 to 20 years to close, according to the commander of Air Education and Training Command.

Lt. Gen. Clark Quinn said many vacant posts require aviators already deep into their careers, so filling them quickly is not possible even if new pilots are produced now. Retention and economic conditions add uncertainty to how fast the deficit can shrink, he said.

Under its Future of Undergraduate Pilot Training programme, the service says it is set to produce 1,500 pilots this fiscal year, a target it has pursued for years.

In the revised pipeline, students complete initial flying at civilian flight schools approved under FAA Part 141 rules, then move to military instruction on the T-6A Texan II. They reach the military phase with about 120 flight hours, against roughly 30 hours previously.

Quinn called the 1,500 figure a milestone rather than an endpoint. The new system, he said, was designed to work around long-standing problems, among them too few instructors and limited aircraft availability, so commanders get the aviators they need.