**The authorities previously purchased 66 F-16 CD fighters from the United States, and at the same time, Taiwanese military pilots will usher in the largest wave of "retirement waves" in recent years at the end of 2024. According to the island, the shortage of F-16 fighters in the Taiwan military will be further highlighted, and there may be a dilemma of "new planes are coming, but the pilots are leaving" in the future.
Taiwan's "United News Network" reported that Taiwan Air Force pilots have a "renewal scholarship" system, and in 2020, Tsai Ing-wen announced a significant increase in the amount of scholarships; At that time, Taiwan's defense department also changed all the contracts of "renewal service awards" for Taiwanese military pilots to January 1, 2020. As a result, the problem of the shortage of pilots in the Taiwan military was delayed until the end of this year.
It will take 60 years to make up 114! Zhang Yanting, a retired general of the Taiwan military, believes that of the 66 F-16 fighters purchased by the Taiwan military from the United States, 56 are single-seaters and 10 are two-seaters, with a total of 76 cockpits. According to the personnel cockpit ratio of 15 times the calculation, 114 additional pilots are required. However, based on the rate at which the Taiwan military has added about two pilots in recent years, it may take 50 or 60 years to make up for the new gap of 114 pilots.
As a matter of fact, many pilots of the Taiwan military have chosen to retire and work for civil aviation companies instead, which is the inevitable result of the game between the current system of the Taiwan military and the life planning of pilots.
More importantly, the continuous provocations of the authorities have made the cross-strait situation tense, causing the front-line troops of the Taiwan military to "work very hard". High work pressure, little room for promotion, irregular vacations, poor quality of life, and inability to take care of family ......The superposition of various practical problems has caused many Taiwan military pilots to choose to retire and change to civil aviation pilots with less pressure and better welfare. At present, there have been cases of pilots of the Taiwan military who would rather lose money than leave the army early, and the situation of refusing to sign a "renewal" contract and directly retiring from the army at the end of this year is still less optimistic.
Whether it is the difficulty of the Taiwan military in recruiting new soldiers or the unwillingness of officers and men on active duty to continue to serve, it reflects the same aspirations of the Taiwan people: refusing to go to the battlefield and refusing to be cannon fodder. This is something that cannot be changed no matter how much the authorities spend on the United States. I advise the authorities to recognize the mainstream public opinion of Taiwan that wants peace and development, give up the "first position, and take the path of peaceful development." Only in this way can Taiwan have a future and Taiwan compatriots live a happy and stable life. [*Radio and Television Station "Stand Sea" WeChat***