Conflicted by the need to reduce training costs while retaining a cutting edge among its fast jet crews, the French Air Force is preparing to introduce a two-tier pilot readiness policy, and Chief of Staff Gen. Denis Mercier said the service will buy a new fleet of advanced trainer aircraft to make the change work.
The second-tier pilots would be used only to sustain operations after air superiority had been achieved by front-line units and only after they had received two or three months of intense training to hone their skills, Mercier said.
Under budget pressures outlined in the recent French defence white paper, the Air Force has imposed close to a 20 percent reduction in fighter pilot flight hours.
The training budget reductions were part of a package reducing Air Force capabilities in the next six-year budget period, including cuts to fast jets, tankers and possibly A400M transport numbers.
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Mercier said he wants to start replacing many of the aging Alpha Jet trainers currently in service with a new aircraft that has embedded simulation to allow it to replicate some of the characteristics of France’s front-line fighters.
“We don’t have that capability yet. … We need to upgrade our systems and replace the Alpha Jet. Without a new aircraft like the PC-21 and Hawk T2, which have embedded simulation, it would be difficult to train the pilots to this new concept,” he said.
http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130615/DEFREG01/306150005/France-Spotlights-Pilot-Readiness
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June 16, 2013 at 5:50 pm