Models of Operational Training in Fighter Squadrons

Operational squadrons in the U.S. Air Force spend most of their time training to accomplish two objectives: to maintain readiness to deploy and operate in wartime, contingencies, and other engagements, and to prepare aircrew members for subsequent assignments at wings, major air commands, and the Air Staff. Although some operational training is needed to achieve these objectives, it has been difficult historically to justify any specific amount of flying. In response to these issues, this report describes a model of aircrew training in an operational fighter squadron. Users of the model, which is formulated as a linear program, specify the number of pilots by qualification in a squadron, and the model calculates the minimum number of sorties that must be flown within a certain period to provide all assigned crew members with the operational training they need. Because such models tend to be somewhat cumbersome, the authors also developed simpler and more-compact "repro" models that reproduce selected results from the linear program and that can be implemented in a spreadsheet format.