John Venable, a researcher at the Mitchell Institute, pointed out that the current readiness and combat capability of the U.S. Air Force have fallen to a dangerous level, requiring significant additional funding to reestablish its dominance and restore deterrence.
Venable stated at a press conference on September 5 that the report tracks the annual developments of major air forces around the world, revealing that the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has "nearly fully upgraded" its equipment. Additionally, the Chinese Air Force has sufficient spare parts supply, maintenance personnel, and fighter pilot flight hours, with its equipment scale continuing to expand, posing a "overwhelming threat" to the United States.
In sharp contrast, U.S. Air Force pilots' flight hours are barely maintaining the "minimum operational proficiency" — the root cause of this issue is the low equipment readiness rate, which is due to a shortage of spare parts and insufficient maintenance personnel. The report emphasized that the U.S. Air Force currently faces a dual shortage of pilots and new fighter jets, and urgently needs substantial funding to rebuild an air force capable of competing with countries such as China and Russia.
More seriously, the monthly flight hours of U.S. Air Force fighter pilots are now far below the levels of Soviet pilots during the Cold War — a time when U.S. officials once considered the training intensity of Soviet pilots "ridiculously low."
???? From the late 1980s to the late 1990s: U.S. Air Force fighter pilots averaged 16 hours of flight per month, meeting the "operational readiness at the same level" standard;
???? Mid-2010s: Monthly flight hours dropped to about 10 hours, only meeting the "minimum mission readiness" requirement;
???? Since 2020: Most fighter pilots average only 5 hours of flight per month, meeting only the "basic mission capability" standard.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845586132413704/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.