Moseley said that, with 183 Raptors, he can “field seven squadrons.” However, it would take changes in the size of squadrons to get seven. At 24 airplanes each (the standard size), seven squadrons would add up to 168 aircraft, leaving just 15 for training, test, servicing, and attrition reserve. The Air Force long insisted it needed 60 just for training. Moseley did not address that discrepancy.
The Air Force is on track to reach its annual goal of graduating 1,500 new pilots that had proved elusive to this point, one year after the service launched a sweeping overhaul of its undergraduate pilot training program, Air Education and Training Command said Sept. 14.
