The T-6JP Texan II The Japanese military, and the country’s civilian airline sector, are facing a crunch because of a shortfall in pilots. More efficient training therefore becomes imperative for forces such as the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).
Marc-Olivier Sabourin, Division President, Defence & Security International at CAE, highlighted the commercially run International Flight Training School (IFTS) in Sardinia as an exemplar for Japan. This facility operated by CAE and Leonardo provides the final stage of training for fighter pilots.
Around 80 international pilots train there annually, including several each year from the JASDF. Sabourin told Asian Military Review at DSEI Japan that the level of training achieved at the IFTS “is an order of magnitude more than what’s going on in many schools around the world”.
This is due to the IFTS’s integrated learning environment that relies on digital training infrastructure, he said. “I’m proud to say it’s the most advanced fighter training school in the world as of today.” He added that Japan would like to send more pilots to the IFTS.
Turning again to Japan, Sabourin noted: “The current Japanese programme is relying on assets that are becoming obsolete, so their training throughput is challenged. But also the training proficiency they get with their existing training system still creates a significant gap between the cadet knowledge and F-35 operations.”
CAE does not currently have a contract with the JASDF for pilot training, but the two parties have been discussing possibilities for some time. Furthermore, CAE ran a study with 30 Japanese pilot cadets around 1.5 years ago.
That brief study used virtual reality-based simulators to provide independent instruction and coaching. Gary Eves, CAE’s Principal Technology Officer, said, “We completed the study, and we were able to show that within just one hour of AI-based coaching, I could make about a 20% improvement on their grade performance without an instructor on very low-footprint, independent technology.”
Eves said this whetted the JASDF’s appetite for digital training. “So, they’re very interested in working that way,” he said, and the service’s educational team is interested in what CAE is offering as an enterprise-wide solution to training management.
However, the Japanese armed services have very siloed pilot training systems and are conservative in their approach. It is therefore more likely that they will transform their training system only in phases rather than wholesale, as others such as Canada are doing.
Of course, with the JASDF in the process of overhauling its pilot training aircraft fleet, there is a great opportunity to simultaneously modify its whole training curriculum. The JASDF has already selected the T-6JP Texan II as its basic trainer, with a contract expected to be signed before the end of 2025.
CAE supports 58+ defence forces around the world, training more than 12,000 aircrew annually, and having introduced well over 1,000 training devices to date.
Sabourin claimed CAE’s training approach leveraging technology reduces the time needed to generate a pilot by about 50%.
by Gordon Arthur