Military aviation training in Menghe

Military aviation training in Menghe encompasses the full spectrum of flight training provided to flight-qualified personnel in the Armed Forces of Menghe. The current program was established as part of the 2005 Menghean military reforms, intended to create a more rigorous and standardized flight training system for the nation's military pilots.

Because Menghe does not have an independent air force, military aviation training is split between the Menghean Army, the Menghean Navy, and the Ministry of National Defense Troops, each of which maintain their own flying services. Most elements of the flight training curriculum are standardized, and some facilities are shared, but pilots destined for these different branches generally train with different units on different bases, and are registered with their destination service from the moment of enlistment.

Recruitment

All flying posts in Menghe are filled by volunteer personnel, as opposed to conscripts. Personnel may either enlist directly upon reaching the Standard age of 19, as an alternative to conscription, or volunteer later in life after completing or being passed over for military service. In addition to high school graduates, the General-Directorate for Servicemen Training at the Ministry of National Defense also targets its recruitment at current and former military ground crew and civil aviation pilots.

Flight training track

Flight Induction Course

Ab initio training takes the form of a Flight Induction Course at the Armed Forces Basic Flying School in Hwangsaju, capital of Sŏchŏn Prefecture. This course provides fundamental instruction in flying techniques to trainees with little or no prior flying experience. This includes a minimum of 24 flight hours on twin-seater light aircraft. The Armed Forces Basic Flying School also conducts physical and mental assessments of trainees, and educates them in theoretical and practical topics relating to aviation. Trainees deemed unfit for flying work after these assessments are put on the non-flying track, where they will train to work as navigators or other airborne non-flying personnel.

This is the only stage of Menghean flight training which is integrated across the Menghean Armed Forces, with the same institute educating trainees destined for Menghean Army Aviation, Menghean Naval Aviation, and the Ministry of National Defense Troops--though personnel destined for these various services have already enlisted or been assigned to a service, and stay in separate dormitories. The Armed Forces Basic Flying School itself is operated by the Ministry of National Defense. Most of its flight instructors are civilian contract employees, and many have prior experience training pilots for civil and general aviation.

Lead-in training

Lead-in fighter training

Trainees on the fighter and ground-attack track are assigned to lead-in fighter training (or LIFT) aircraft. For most trainees, this represents their first experience operating high-performance jet aircraft. LIFT aircraft in Menghean service are equipped with a full suite of combat avionics, and are capable of carrying a variety of weapons, particularly in the air-to-ground mode but also including IR-guided air-to-air missiles. The current mainstay of the Menghean lead-in fighter training fleet is the Daesŭngri DS-10, which is capable of supersonic flight and can be programmed to emulate the performance of combat aircraft including the DS-9 and SR-8.

Lead-in fighter training squadrons are grouped into Training Regiments and placed under the command of operational Army Air Corps units, meaning they are directly subordinate to front-line commanders. The 304th, 305th, and 306th LIFT squadrons, for example, are part of the 9th Army's Air Corps in the Army Group of Forces in the Southwest. In peacetime, this provides pilots with opportunities to train with other combat units, including fixed-wing fighters and air support direction units on the ground. In wartime, LIFT squadrons can also be pressed into combat service as front-line ground-attack aircraft, which was done during the One-Month War.

At the start of 2022, the following formations provided lead-in fighter training for the Menghean Armed Forces. All LIFT squadrons were established after the reorganization of the Menghean fighter pilot training program, and they bear consecutive numbers in the range from 301 to 318. Each squadron was equipped with twelve Daesŭngri DS-10 trainers.

163rd Training Regiment (14th Ground Attack Division, 7th Army Air Corps)

301st Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

302nd Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

303rd Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

115th Training Regiment (29th Ground Attack Division, 9th Army Air Corps)

304th Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

305th Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

306th Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

106th Training Regiment (37th Ground Attack Division, 12th Army Air Corps)

307th Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

308th Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

315th Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

153rd Training Regiment (46th Ground Attack Division, 4th Army Air Corps)

309th Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

310th Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

311th Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

131st Training Regiment (28th Ground Attack Division, 14th Army Air Corps)

312th Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

313th Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

314th Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

101st Training Regiment (40th Ground Attack Division, 6th Army Air Corps)

317th Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

318th Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

316th Lead-In Fighter Training Squadron

Operational conversion

In previous decades, such as under the Democratic People's Republic of Menghe, each squadron of single-seat aircraft typically included 1-3 examples with tandem cockpits to be used as operational conversion trainers for new pilots. These airframes were otherwise identical in performance and functionality to the single-seat versions, save for reduced fuel in some cases, and would typically be flown as single-seaters in combat.

Current Menghean fourth-generation fighters permit easier operational conversion training as part of their design: squadrons equipped with the Daesŭngri DS-9 typically have a 50:50 mix of single-seat and twin-seat models (G and N or D and R, respectively), and all Songrim SR-8 variants in mass production are twin-seat models. Duplicated flying controls and multi-function displays in the rear cockpit allow these aircraft to be used as conversion trainers for pilots assigned to combat units.