CAG flags deficiencies in training of IAF pilots

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, in a report tabled in Parliament today, highlighted significant deficiencies in the training of Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots. The performance audit, covering 2016-2021, flagged outdated equipment and critical issues with the basic trainer aircraft, Pilatus PC-7 Mk-II, including engine oil leaks.

The report said the CAG team studied the operations of the Pilatus PC-7 Mk-II aircraft which is being used as a basic trainer aircraft to impart ‘Stage-1’ flying training to trainee pilots since May 2013.

According to the report, 16 of the 64 Pilatus PC-7 Mk-II aircraft (25 per cent) reported 38 engine oil leaks between 2013 and 2021. The IAF raised the issue with the manufacturer, and as of August 2023, the matter was stated to be under investigation.

Delays in the IAF’s aircraft modernisation plans have affected ‘Stage 2’ and ‘Stage 3’ pilot training for transport and helicopter streams.

Sources said there are three stages of training. A pilot starts off with a basic plane and graduates to the better classes of planes before being commissioned.

Helicopter pilots are trained on legacy platforms with outdated avionics, necessitating additional conversion training for operational units like Mi-17 V5 helicopters. Transport pilot training still relies on older Dornier-228 aircraft lacking modern cockpits.

The CAG also noted limitations in training simulators. While Virtual Reality (VR) Simulators and Flying Training Devices (FTDs) provide procedural training, they lack physical movement to simulate the real flight experience.

Pilot shortages were another concern. In February 2015, the IAF assessed a shortage of 486 pilots. Between 2016 and 2021, an annual intake of 222 trainee pilots was planned, but actual recruitment fell short, increasing the shortage to 596 pilots, according to the report.

Additionally, the Ministry of Defence’s 2013 plan to procure 296 aircraft by 2016, including 106 Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA) and 73 Intermediate Jet Trainers (IJT) indigenously designed by HAL, failed to materialise.

The report further criticised the IAF for lacking a comprehensive Long-Term Training Plan to address current and future training needs, infrastructure and trainer aircraft requirements.