U.S. Air Force is Short 1,650 Pilots, Report Says

The shortage of fighter pilots has prompted the service to staff operational units with field grade officers, a service official said.

Kimberly Johnson

Tuesday, April 05, 2022 at 10:20 AM ET

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The USAF reported it employed 13,789 active duty officers with a pilot aeronautical rating in 2021. [Courtesy: Nellis Air Force Base]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. Air Force currently faces a shortage of 1,650 pilots, a slight improvement from last year, with the most critical gaps found among company-grade officers and fighter pilots.
This deficit forces more experienced field-grade officers into flying roles, diverting them from staff positions and creating a long-term pipeline issue for future leadership.
The Air Force is actively implementing strategies to address the shortfall, including accelerating pilot training programs, increasing annual pilot production, and developing new pathways for civilians and active-duty airmen.
Despite these efforts and some progress, officials acknowledge that fully correcting the persistent pilot shortage will be a lengthy process, likely taking a decade or more.

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The U.S. Air Force is short 1,650 pilots and has brought back retired pilots to help fill staffing gaps created by a lack of company-grade officers, according to a new report.

“That’s an improvement over last year, where we were just over 1,900 pilots short,” Maj. Gen. Albert Miller, Air Force director of training and readiness for operations, told the Federal News Network recently. “We see that as a positive for the Air Force, but there’s still a lot of work to be done to get us back to where we want to be.”