One of the most interesting and relevant articles I have come across during my time at BogiDope!

To summarize, the Air Force is mandated by Congress to maintain a certain number of “combat coded” fighter aircraft in the inventory; That number is 1,145 “combat coded” fighters. The key term here being “combat coded”. The Air Force calls these “combat coded” jets part of the Primary Mission Aircraft Inventory or PMAI.

The accounting side is where things are getting interesting. Each squadron should have 24 PMAI aircraft, plus approximately 4 non PMAI aircraft. Think 4 extras for parts and reserve aircraft. The Air Force USED to only count 24 as “combat coded”, thus mission ready, and towards the 1,145 requirement. This also included allocating funds, maintenance and pilots for 24 PMAI. Additionally, each fighter training unit (FTU) (Where fighter pilots learn to fly their specific aircraft, often called the “B-Course” for Basic Course) fly NON PMAI aircraft. IE: These jets were never counted towards the Congressionally mandated minimum fighter level either and are not considered “combat coded”.

Well this is all about to change. The Air Force is now going to count ALL fighter tails towards the Congressional requirement, regardless of their “status”. This will include reserve aircraft at combat coded squadrons AND non combat coded tails at FTUs across the country!

Why does this matter to you? Well for one, the overall fighter aircraft shortage will nearly instantly disappear with no effective change taking place in pilot training, fighter acquisition or funding levels.

Secondly, are the ripple effects of combat coded aircraft, and pilots, being counted towards our readiness to fight a near-peer adversary. If these pilots and aircraft are being counted towards the minimum requirement, will they be expected to deploy along with combat coded units?! Are they capable of doing this? Not in a theoretical way, I know many fighter pilots in FTUs that are incredible pilots with many years of fighter experience. But are they proficient? I know a fighter aircraft is still a fighter aircraft but are they being maintained in the same way as combat coded units? Do they have the software and hardware to able to sustain combat operations? Probably not, to answer both of my own questions.

To quote Matt Donovan, who was Undersecretary and Acting Secretary of the Air Force during the first Trump administration, (This is like) “putting lipstick on a pig. No matter how much lipstick you put on a pig, it’s still a pig.”

This is going to have many unintended consequences impacting funding, pilot training and fighter acquisition for many years to come.

airandspaceforces.com

Air Force’s New Fighter Math Doesn’t Add Up for Critics

A new metric for how the Air Force counts fighters could affect how comprehensively the fleet is funded, experts said.