https://www.cgai.ca/rcafs_pilot_shor...elt_in_romania
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Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, Romania – The first Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) pilot to have intercepted a frontline Russian fighter jet in nearly half a century has laid out the stark challenges facing those who lead Canada’s fighter jet community. As the auditor general concluded in a blistering report published this week, the country has lost so many experienced pilots and technicians that it can no longer defend Canadian air space and carry out NATO missions in Europe.
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Ironically, Woods, who as commander is usually involved in administrative matters and planning, was on alert to scramble “because of the loss of so many experienced pilots. I am having to fly more to help with that. I am having to fly about twice a week. The kids are flying four or five times a week.”
Canada’s acute fighter jet pilot and technician shortage was a hot topic in Romania as it has been at bases back in Canada.
“I have no plans to release though this is something that is definitely discussed among the pilots,” said a captain who only has 600 hours on the CF-18. “One-quarter of our pilots – 23 of them – released last year. Most of those who are leaving are mid-level to senior pilots. They are the ones who are the trainers, so finding enough trainers is hard. It is a major problem.”
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In a paradox that was not lost on anyone in Romania, some Canadian pilots have been considering whether to join the Royal Australian Air Force because it would give them a chance to fly highly advanced F-35 fighter jets. To fill what the government has claimed is a capability gap, Ottawa decided last fall to spend $500 million to buy 25 RAAF Hornets that the Australians were getting rid of because Canberra had decided to buy the much more capable F-35. Canada has dithered for years over how to replace its Hornets.
“Is that affecting releases? I’d say yes,” said the pilot, who was several years younger than the jet that he flew.
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I talked to a friend of mind last year who started out in the reserves who I trained, and then transitioned to the Air Force and ended up flying 18's until he had a driving accident that ended his career.
We talked about it and his feeling is that when the Liberal's started messing around with the F-35 procurement veteran pilots threw their hands up and walked away because they saw where this was going. Either the Liberal's would try to extend the life of the F-18's, or buy a cheap fighter that's already on the way to obsolescence in the modern world.
If you're going to have a small airforce, and you're going to buy relatively few fighters, and then ride them for 40 years, you almost have to buy at the bleeding edge and have a good upgrade capability. The Libs did that with the purchase of the F-18's back in the day.