Overview
- Applications opened April 1 and close May 31 for contracts that can pay up to $50,000 a year, or $600,000 over 12 years.
- The program targets pilots, remotely piloted aircraft pilots, air battle managers, and combat systems officers at the rank of lieutenant colonel and below.
- Contracts run three to 12 years, with higher pay now tied to shorter terms in fighter, bomber, and U-2 communities.
- About 3,200 airmen are eligible, and roughly 200 fighter and bomber pilots in their final year of commitment qualify for the largest increases.
- Air Force leaders describe the bonus as a retention tool to preserve critical skills, while noting cash alone will not fix the decades-old pilot shortage.