Shortage of RAF pilots for Libya as defence budget cuts bite

[Gary]

The RAF risks running short of pilots for operations over Libya as cuts to the defence budget threaten to undermine front-line operations, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Since the conflict began, a squadron of 18 RAF Typhoon pilots has enforced the Libya no-fly zone from an air base in southern Italy. However, a shortage of qualified fighter pilots means the RAF may not have enough to replace all of them when the squadron has to rotate in a few weeks.

The situation is so serious that the RAF has halted the teaching of trainee Typhoon pilots so instructors can be drafted on to the front line, according to air force sources. The handful of pilots used for air shows will also be withdrawn from displays this summer.

The shortage has arisen because cuts to the defence budget over the past decade have limited the number of pilots who have been trained to fly the new Typhoon.

There are also fewer newly qualified pilots coming through after the RAF was forced to cut a quarter of its trainee places due to cuts announced in last year’s Strategic Defence and Security Review.

The Government’s decision to decommission HMS Ark Royal, Harrier jump jets and the Nimrod reconnaissance aircraft — all of which could have played a role in the Libya conflict — has exacerbated the problem. Serving RAF pilots contacted The Daily Telegraph to warn of the risks to the Libya operation. “We have a declining pool of pilots,” one said. “There’s less people to do twice as much work. If we are not training any more we are going to run out of personnel very soon.”

He added that halting Typhoon fighter pilot training was a “desperate measure” that could not go on “without making the Typhoon force unviable”.

Jim Murphy, the shadow defence secretary, said: “There is a great concern in Parliament about the Government’s cuts to RAF pilots. We would be very worried if government cuts were to impede future operations.”

Out of 69 qualified RAF Typhoon pilots, including instructors, 18 are in southern Italy flying missions over Libya. Of the rest, 24 are committed to the Quick Reaction Alert protecting Britain’s air space and 12 are in the Falklands in a similar role. That leaves only 15 to replace those currently based in Italy.

Because of the intensity of flying on operations, pilots deploy for a maximum of two months at a time and the replacements for those currently enforcing the no-fly zone in Libya will be expected to deploy at the end of next month.

The RAF faces losing 5,000 serving personnel from its total of 42,000 under the strategic review. In the past six months, the posts for 48 Harrier pilots and 30 Tornado F3 fighter pilots have been lost, although the Ministry of Defence insists that all will be transferred to other flying posts within the RAF.

News of the Typhoon pilots shortage will come as a further embarrassment to the Government after it was forced to delay scrapping warships involved in the Libyan conflict.

Air Commodore Andrew Lambert, a former RAF pilot who flew over Bosnia and Iraq, said the campaign in Libya could become “unsustainable”.

“We should put a halt to all defence cuts,” he said. “It does not make sense. The world is getting less stable and if the Government cannot see that, we have a problem bordering on the irresponsible.”

Air Marshal Dick Garwood, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Operations, said there was no shortage of pilots. “We have enough aircraft and people to carry out all the tasks placed on us,” he said.

MoD sources suggested that the Libyan conflict vindicated the decision to retain the Tornado over the Harrier as there were more pilots in the pool and it had a greater reconnaissance and strike capability.

Info from The Telegraph

[RichC]

Notice the second to last sentence coming from the Air Marshall?

Wait until he retires or is replaced and he will say exactly the same as the crews who reported to the paper. He is covering up for the Government like the rest have and won't say anything against what the Government has done because he will lose his job.
Backstabbing idiot.

[Thunderbird]

This government just like the last , simply does not understand how the armed forces operate.if you cannot provide enough respite from operations then you get a situation that returning aircrew etc leave the service prematurely for the sake of their families and their own wellbeing.To cut training is madness , every business knows the value of soundly investing for the future.Come on Cameron wake up before it is too late!

[Ghastly Whisper]

If thats half true it explains why a certain base in Lincolnshire is very quiet

[Richard B]

Look how many pilots have gone over the last few years,
bet most of the Jag crews left same as the F3 and Harrier pilots, sea Harrier,
oK a handfull have gone on to Typhoon.

God knows who will fly the F35, will be very few pilots if any.

Looks like Airshows for 2011 will be lacking also.

[T_J]

I've been listening out for Typhoon practice slots on the Coningsby ATIS. No Bingo times heard for a 1300 slot yesterday.

The possibility of the Typhoon 2011 display being cancelled was first brought to attention via this thread.

viewtopic.php?f=55&t=30175" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TJ

[garethbrum]

Look how many pilots have gone over the last few years,
bet most of the Jag crews left same as the F3 and Harrier pilots, sea Harrier,
oK a handfull have gone on to Typhoon.

God knows who will fly the F35, will be very few pilots if any.

Looks like Airshows for 2011 will be lacking also.

Most of the Jag pilots stayed - and the Harrier pilots too, all of whom (RAF) were offered cockpits.

[Richard B]

Look how many pilots have gone over the last few years,
bet most of the Jag crews left same as the F3 and Harrier pilots, sea Harrier,
oK a handfull have gone on to Typhoon.

God knows who will fly the F35, will be very few pilots if any.

Looks like Airshows for 2011 will be lacking also.

Most of the Jag pilots stayed - and the Harrier pilots too, all of whom (RAF) were offered cockpits.

So how many crew was on strength on the Jaguar force, also for the Harrier force, throw in the F3 crew. must be some pretty big numbers
for flying 30-40 phoons,
Lot of the crews i knew have gone to civvi flying, Biz jets, Cargo and Passenger flying pays good money.
Early retirement,
If you are correct in your saying, then the article and the lack of pilots as to be untrue.

[POL]

http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/ ... rtage.html
Post No 12 seems quite apt

To quote post 12 as mentioned;

Can the MoD not just call-up all the MS Flight Sim warriors who are often found on here stating certanties about comparative a/c abilities as if they are the world's most in demand test pilot rather than actually being a nerd who knows how to find Wikipedia?

It's almost the same isn't it, flying for real and sitting in your boxers in a darkened room, fiddling with your joystick and snacking on crisps?

The Americans did it (After a fashion) to boost the number of UAVs they had, that seemed to work rather well!

[Bucky P]

In the words of Churchill "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few".

I can almost hear these words echoing around again, who would have thought that 70 years on these words would once again ring true!

If we concentrated more on keeping the world safe instead of bailing out the banking system to keep bankers bonuses safe, we would be in a much stronger, safer position!

[garethbrum]

Look how many pilots have gone over the last few years,
bet most of the Jag crews left same as the F3 and Harrier pilots, sea Harrier,
oK a handfull have gone on to Typhoon.

God knows who will fly the F35, will be very few pilots if any.

Looks like Airshows for 2011 will be lacking also.

Most of the Jag pilots stayed - and the Harrier pilots too, all of whom (RAF) were offered cockpits.

So how many crew was on strength on the Jaguar force, also for the Harrier force, throw in the F3 crew. must be some pretty big numbers
for flying 30-40 phoons,
Lot of the crews i knew have gone to civvi flying, Biz jets, Cargo and Passenger flying pays good money.
Early retirement,
If you are correct in your saying, then the article and the lack of pilots as to be untrue.

There are loads of Jag mates on the Typhoon and now some Harrier ones too, though some of them went GR.4 or on to instructional roles.

The airlines have only just begun recruiting again after a fairly barren few years remember.

[RichC]

Some of the NSW have gone back to their naval routes and are now flying FRADU Hawks.
One such pilot uses his own callsign too (SATAN 1) when flying the Hawks.

[T_J]

House of Commons

Oral Evidence

Taken Before The Public Accounts Committee

Ministry of Defence: Typhoon

Wednesday 9 March 2011

Ursula Brennan, Air Vice Marshal Simon Bollom and Air Vice Marshal Stephen Hillier.

Stephen Hillier: Could I just come back? We have 48 pilots who are trained for the tasks that we require them to do. Eight of them are required to be trained for the multi-role task, and we have eight trained in that role. We have 48 pilots overall.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/p ... c86001.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TJ

[Bucky P]

There must be a lot of hangar queens at Coningsby!

[TS010]

Thunderbird. Telling Cameron to wake up is all very well, but can you PLEASE tell him which other services he cuts in order to finance these so-called deficiences in our defence capability. I am sure that any shortfall on our side in Libya will be covered by other countries filling in, so no problems there. If you wish to pay another 5p income tax in the £, then we could have loads more Typhoons [for what purpose I'm not sure]. Simples!.

Sort the MP expenses out. More MP's can now claim even more than before the scandal broke. O.K. would'nt make a massive dent in the defence budget, but why are they allowed to claim at all. If you take a job that is based in London it's your choice. They get paid enough as it is, without claiming for allsorts and doubling their salary at our expense.

[ukmil]

sort out the tax dodgers, not just the bankers, but take a look at the premiership footballers. Take one Mr Rooney, he gets a reported £275,000 a week, but also reported is that he pays only 2% tax, so a week he pays £5500.

now, if he was forced to pay FULL HIGH EARNERS tax, of around 50%, he would pay £125,000 a week in tax.

now, multiply that by how many other top footballers are pulling in £100,000 plus a week, and how many are using loopholes to pay low tax, and there is a MASSIVE amount of tax that the government are losing out on

if they took full tax off Rooney alone, thats is an extra 6.5m in tax income a year.


just a thought

[SteveS]

Yeah, but then you'd watch all the Premiership footballers moving to Spain and paying no tax in the UK. Same goes for any high earner if the tax is too high. They'll just leave the country.

[Bucky P]

Yeah, but then you'd watch all the Premiership footballers moving to Spain and paying no tax in the UK. Same goes for any high earner if the tax is too high. They'll just leave the country.

They pay so little tax that would we actually notice?

[SteveS]

No-one knows how much tax they pay, so we can't comment on that.

[ukmil]

I agree, we do not know for sure, hence why i said it was reported as that. However, it was a mere example. There are many other people in this country, who 'know' the financial system, who get away without paying their dues, and the government should be chasing them for their cash, instead of constantly draining the average man for his hard earned cash