Push to use allies to train needed Canadian fighter pilots no longer being considered

David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen

A Canadian military plan to boost the number of fighter pilots through a one-time push using allied training won't be happening, and instead the number of aviators will be increased gradually over the next seven years using the existing domestic system.

The plan to make use of allied training to increase the numbers of pilots to fly the interim fighter jets being acquired by the Liberals was outlined to Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan in November 2016, according to documents obtained by Postmedia.

“Fighter pilot production would need to be increased above current numbers to fly the additional mission ready aircraft,” Sajjan was told as the number of jets in the military's inventory would be boosted. “This would be done by utilizing allied training capacity with a one-time investment.”

That initiative would allow Canada to have the needed pilots in place by 2023, the briefing added.

The push for more pilots was to coincide with the purchase of 18 Super Hornets from Boeing, a U.S. aerospace firm.

But that deal collapsed after a trade complaint and Canada is now buying 25 used F-18 aircraft from Australia.

A one-time push for allied training would no longer be needed. “As the Australian F-18 jets are very similar to our CF-18's, there will be no difference in training our pilots,” an email from the Canadian Forces noted.

“We will be using our existing pilots and growing their number gradually over the next five to seven years,” it added.

Last month Auditor General Michael Ferguson noted that the additional aircraft being acquired as an interim measure meant that the Canadian Forces “would need to considerably increase the number of trained pilots. National Defence is unlikely to be able to do so because pilots have been leaving the fighter force faster than new ones could be trained.”

Military aviators worldwide are being lured away from their jobs by the growing demand in the civilian aviation market for airline pilots.

But RCAF commander Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger told the Commons public accounts committee Dec. 3 that the main reason for Canadian pilots leaving had to do with family. “Certainly the feedback from those who are releasing is it's a question of family, challenges for their family,” Meinzinger said. “There's a dimension of ops tempo, work-life balance, predictability in terms of geographical location, and then typically fifth or sixth are comments about financial remuneration.”

Canada's main fighter bases are in Cold Lake, Alta., and Bagotville, Que.

Meinzinger said there can also be issues with spouses finding employment in the locations where the pilots operate from. In addition, some pilots don't want to be transferred to desk jobs and want to continue with flight operations.

The specific number of fighter pilots the Canadian Forces is short of is considered secret.

In the email to Postmedia, the RCAF says it is looking at several ways to attract and retain fighter pilots “which include initiatives to make living and working in our organization the best it can be.”

“This includes looking at increasing the number of staff positions where pilots still get to fly and reviewing options of longer flying tours, which would provide our members with added stability, enable them to fly longer, and retains valuable experience at the squadrons to train or upgrade qualifications of junior members,” the RCAF added.

The RCAF also says it may consider sending its trained pilots to work with allied air forces to gain further experience if there is a need.

There have been problems, on and off, since the late 1990s with producing and retaining Canadian military pilots. Postmedia reported that the Canadian Forces had to send fledgling fighter pilots down to the U.S. between 2011 and 2013 because of ongoing issues, including the availability of training aircraft provided by civilian contractors at the flying training facilities in Moose Jaw, Sask., and Cold Lake.

That reduction in aircraft availability reduced the level of training, which in turn “negatively impacted the pilot production capability,” according to a briefing for then Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Walt Natynczyk.

dpugliese@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/davidpugliese

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