USAF struggles with 2,000-pilot shortage amid aging fleet
The Mitchell Institute report reveals an uncomfortable truth about the U.S. Air Force. For nearly 20 years, there has been a persistent shortage of about 2,000 pilots in the unit, with more than half being fighter pilots. Heather R. Penney, the report's author and a member of the first generation of U.S. Air Force women trained as combat pilots, points out that the existing shortages "severely reduce the combat readiness of the U.S. Air Force and its ability to conduct a war campaign at an equal level."
Heather R. Penney, also known as "Lucky," flew F-16 fighters for 10 years. During her aviation career, she participated in many patrol flights over Washington and two combat missions, including Operation Iraqi Freedom. "Lucky" and Colonel Marc "Sass" Sasseville also played a significant role during the events of September 11, 2001.
The pilots were dispatched on an extremely dangerous mission to intercept United Airlines Flight 93, which was suspected to be heading for the Capitol. However, there wasn't enough time to arm their planes with live ammunition, so the only option was to ram the plane, effectively sacrificing their lives. Ultimately, the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 fought the hijackers, and during the struggle, the plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
The report reveals shortages in the U.S. Air Force
Currently, Penney is a member of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, where she focuses on defense policy, research, and analysis. In her latest report, "Want Combat Airpower? Then Fix the Air Force Pilot Crisis," she presents a rather grim picture of the current staffing state of the United States Air Force (USAF).
"The Air Force pilot corps is currently too small and poorly organized to maintain healthy combat forces capable of winning in a peer conflict and meeting other national security requirements," notes Heather R. Penney in the document. She adds that the crisis affects the entire pilot corps, but the shortage of fighter pilots is particularly acute, accounting for more than half of the missing personnel. Moreover, the shortages affect both the regular U.S. Air Force, which includes full-time personnel, and reservists.
"Fighter aircraft play a crucial role in providing air superiority, suppressing and destroying air defenses, engaging mobile and high-priority targets, and supporting troops in direct contact—all essential for the effective operation of combined armed forces," Penney reminds us.
USAF problems
The U.S. Air Force has long faced a chronic shortage of pilots. In 2024 alone, nearly 1,850 pilots were missing, with 1,142 of these vacancies being for fighter pilot positions. Additionally, there are issues with an aging aircraft fleet and its shrinking size. As WP Tech journalist Łukasz Michalik reported, according to official budget data, in 2025 the U.S. Air Force will have 1,295 fighters, whereas (according to Statista data) in 2024, there were 1,351, and in 2023, there were 1,418 units.
The average age of the combat aircraft is about 26-29 years. All these elements impact costs and the readiness of the machines to operate. As Łukasz Michalik rightly pointed out, "from roughly the middle of the previous decade, the readiness has been maintained at about 50 percent, which means that in the event of a sudden need, only about every second plane counted in the statistics can be sent to fight."
According to Heather R. Penney, the current situation of the U.S. Air Force requires immediate action, including increasing the budget and resources for this unit. In her view, it is necessary for the Air Force to increase its aircraft fleet, expand the pilot corps, and provide combat experience to its pilots—both those on active duty and reservists. In the report, Penney indicated that the Air Force must:
- Conduct an almost complete replacement of its combat aircraft fleet,
- Enhance its combat capability by expanding its force structure,
- Develop and maintain a combat pilot corps in both the Active Component and Reserve Component, tailored to the size of the combat aircraft fleet, and create sufficient strategic depth to replace lost aircraft and personnel in combat.
