UK: The current state of the Royal Air Force (RAF) jet pilots' training system has been dubbed "a scam" due to a severe shortage of flight instructors brought on by "brain drain" and an influx of jam-packing foreign students. Overcrowded training courses.
Royal Air Force (RAF) recruits have been waiting months for training slots to become available, Sky News reported.
According to leaked documents, the RAF's backlog in fast jet pilot training has developed into a full-blown crisis as a result of a variety of "emerging" issues.

The current state of the training system of Royal Air Force (RAF) jet pilots has been dubbed "a scam" due to a significant shortage of flight instructors brought on by "brain drain" and jam-packing overcrowded training of foreign students. syllabus.
Royal Air Force (RAF) recruits have been waiting months for training slots to become available, Sky News reported.
According to leaked documents, the RAF's backlog in fast jet pilot training has developed into a full-blown crisis as a result of a variety of "emerging" issues.

According to a memo, there are currently 347 trainees - called "holdies" - waiting for a spot for a training or "refresher" course. It represents more than half of the 596 people that make up the entire UK flight training system. In addition, 80 personnel will have to wait three-and-a-half years to complete the multi-engine training, which is required to fly transport aircraft such as the C-17 and A400M. The same is true for the crew of the Poseidon multi-role maritime patrol aircraft and the Rivet combined reconnaissance aircraft. Recruits will have to wait two to three years to learn how to fly a Chinook helicopter.

One of the highlighted issues was the Rolls-Royce engine on the Hawk jet, on which the faster the jet recruits the train. According to the leaked memo, it will "reduce pipeline capacity over the next three years" and extend the waiting period for some trainees to about twelve months.

Another issue was the "harmful drain" of qualified instructor pilots leaving the RAF for better-paying jobs in the industry.
"The draw from such a small pool is so great that we're approaching a critical mass point," the outlet observed.
According to reports, Britain's commitment to train pilots from Qatar and Saudi Arabia as part of a deal to sell the country's Typhoon jets is taking up training space that is already at a premium.

According to a defense source, this has increased the time taken for RAF pilots to complete the final phase of their training in the Operational Conversion Unit. According to the report, only 11 trainee UK pilots are scheduled to go through the conversion phase of fast jet training to learn to fly the F35 or Typhoon this year, as only 43 slots are available.

An anonymous former senior Air Force officer commented on the situation and called the training situation "a scandal and a crisis", adding that it was not new and had been going on for nearly 30 years.
According to a serving officer who was quoted as saying, "Right now, this is the biggest f*** up in the RAF," he continued.

The difficulties this year were related to the Air Force's plan to retire several aircraft as part of a modernization drive, according to a serving RAF source, who denied there was a crisis.
Sources claim that Russia's special military operation in Ukraine has only fueled the flames. They claim the RAF has come under pressure to send more rapid jets and crew to the airspace of NATO allies.
He cited the example of a time when the instructors of the Operational Conversion Unit at RAF Coningsby had to reschedule their training sessions to fly the Quick Reaction Alert jets, which were quickly scrambled.

Sources claimed that a senior group of RAF officers met three to four times a year to discuss the new training challenges.
The demographics of the service have changed as a result of the above training loopholes. Thus, from the early to mid-20s, the average age of a newly qualified pilot in the RAF has risen to 29, which could have "important implications for future professional development, access and retention", a document warned. Gave.

According to defense sources, some of today's issues have their roots in the end of the Cold War. He regretted that the British governments had attempted to reduce defense spending by repeatedly reducing the size of the RAF, the Army and the Royal Navy, with frontline squadrons falling from an initial number of about 30 to seven. The report also said there were plans to privatize a significant portion of the Army's flight training.

Despite "challenges with the training pipeline", an RAF spokesperson was quoted in response to the report as saying that the service was "working in defence, training experience with industry and our international partners and the results for our personnel." to improve, including recruiting more trainers and actively managing timeframes for training."

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