New Delhi, Oct 4 (IANS) The Indian Air Force (IAF), the world’s fourth largest, is still grappling with a shortage of officers even as the attrition rate in the past few years has witnessed a downturn, a top commander said Monday.
‘The shortage of fighter pilots is between 550 and 600 but the attrition rate has been positive for some time now,’ the IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik, said, meaning that fewer pilots were leaving the force now.
He was speaking to reporters here ahead of the IAF’s anniversary to be celebrated Friday.
Naik said the economic downturn and the aspirations of the people that had gone down were the reasons for more people turning towards the IAF for jobs.
The IAF, he said, also suffers from a shortage of some 5,000 personnel below officer rank (PBOR). ‘But we are looking to have nearly 30,000 PBORs by 2022,’ he added.
