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a report on the u.s. defense news website on the 16th local time stated that under a new u.s. air force policy, pilots who have completed training on the t-38 talon advanced trainer aircraft may now be required to fly aircraft other than fighters or bombers.

according to the current pilot training process of the us air force, flight trainees must first undergo an 18-hour flight screening on a light general aircraft, and then transfer to a beechcraft t-6 texan ii turboprop trainer for 87 hours of basic flight training (as well as 47 hours of simulator practice).

the pilots will then be divided into different groups for advanced flight training according to their training direction: fighter, attack aircraft and other tactical aircraft, as well as bomber flight trainees will continue to fly 96 hours and 38 hours of simulator practice on the t-38c "talon" advanced trainer (fighter pilots will also need to fly the t-38c for an additional 20 hours of combat introductory training); helicopter flight trainees will fly 105 hours and 40 hours of simulator practice on the th-1 "huey" trainer helicopter; and transport/refueling/special aircraft trainees will fly 76 hours on the t-1a trainer and practice 54 hours on the simulator.

after that, they can be assigned to the corresponding formal modification training unit (formal training unit, ftu, equipped with aircraft models consistent with the actual models used by combat troops to perform pilot modification training tasks) according to the actual combat aircraft models.

a u.s. air force pilot training path diagram social media

from this process, it can be seen that before this, almost all the trainees who were trained on the t-38 were fighters, bombers and other combat aircraft flight trainees. however, the defense news website stated that they consulted a memorandum document from august this year, which described the challenges faced in the field of pilot reserve and was confirmed by a us air force official. the document mentioned a "significant but necessary policy change" that changed the existing distribution flow of trainees trained on the t-38. they may be assigned to other aircraft types besides fighters and bombers.

although the memorandum acknowledges that among the 1,848 pilots currently in short supply in the u.s. air force, 1,142 are fighter pilots, accounting for more than 60%. subjectively, the u.s. air force is more willing to send every qualified graduate on the t-38 to modify fighters, but "the current situation requires the use of existing capabilities to maximize the output of pilot training." therefore, in addition to traditional fighters, bombers and other directions, it will also consider matching the graduated t-38 flight trainees with the "first flight instructor" task of the t-6 basic trainer aircraft to increase the training capacity of flight trainees at a more basic level.

u.s. air force t-38c talon advanced trainer formation u.s. air force

on the other hand, the memo also added that due to difficulties in personnel and other aspects, in some cases, there has been a waiting period of "more than a year" between pilots' advanced trainer training and formal aircraft conversion training. brigadier general travoris simmons, director of training and readiness at the u.s. air force headquarters and deputy chief of staff for operations, said that related support and manpower challenges have led to delays in fighter conversion training units. although the u.s. air force failed to meet soldier recruitment standards for the first time since 1999 in fiscal year 2023, this situation seems to have improved and eased in fiscal year 2024 through some efforts to attract new talent.

other news in the past year shows that the training delays of the u.s. air force t-38 talon trainer aircraft fleet are first of all due to the irreversible serious aging of the fleet itself, and once suffered from the maintenance problems of the j85 turbojet engine. due to the poor supply chain caused by the "new coronavirus pandemic", the difficulty in supplying aging parts, the lack of a detailed parts purchase list, and budget reductions, the contractors responsible for refurbishing these old engines are "several months behind normal levels" in terms of delivery speed, which naturally affects the flight trainees who are in urgent need of flying.

in addition, the u.s. air force has to undertake the european-nato joint jet pilot training program after the full outbreak of the russian-ukrainian conflict, and the available t-38s are even more stretched, and the delay in the delivery of the boeing t-7a makes this situation even more serious. a german air force colonel at sheppard air force base in north texas also proposed the idea of ​​transferring some advanced flight and entry-level combat programs on the t-38 to the t-6, and u.s. officials also temporarily suspended the training of new trainer flight instructors to ensure the stability of the basic flight cadet team, but this obviously had a considerable negative impact on the basic pilot training capacity.

for t-38c talon advanced trainer aircraft j85-5 turbojet engine social media

in summary, the memo mentions how students who complete the t-38 course will prioritize all aircraft on their wish lists, not just fighters and bombers, and describes the opportunity for students to choose other models on a voluntary basis. simmons also said that with these recent policy changes, the u.s. air force will still allocate aircraft models based on traditional core principles such as service needs, platform availability, student personal preferences, and student performance rankings. although the purpose of the policy changes is to optimize available resources, pilots affected by the policy changes can still choose to voluntarily flow to fighters and bombers as future capabilities and needs develop. the memo also stated that the u.s. air force intends to resume normal training mission processes as soon as possible. simmons said that the final pilot training capacity data for fiscal year 2024 will not be released until later this year.