The number of trained pilots in the SA Air Force continues to decline, while more than half the posts for technical support crew are vacant, figures released by the Ministry of Defence show.
Defence and Military Veterans Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said yesterday that of the 383 posts for combat, helicopter and transport pilots, 132 - more than a third - were vacant, while out of 187 "additional" posts, 50 needed to be filled.
Only 34 of 60 combat pilot posts were filled, only 109 of 167 helicopter posts were filled, and only 108 of 156 transport pilot posts were filled, Sisulu said.
In a written reply to a parliamentary question, she said the total number of technical support crew posts was 1 630, but there were only 763 employed in these posts, leaving 867 vacancies. Engineers were also in short supply, with only 52 employees out of a total of 122 posts.
"It should be borne in mind that Reserve Force members of the SA Air Force provide the necessary back-up service, but these are not reflected on the permanent establishment," Sisulu said.
DA defence spokesman David Maynier, who asked the question, said the vacancy rate was between 30 and 50 percent.
"It's a major concern," he said.
Sisulu said earlier this year that the Department of Defence had identified several strategies to fill the vacant posts, including recruitment drives through the Military Skills Development System.
Defence analyst Helmoed-Römer Heitman said the air force had had skilled staff shortages since the early 1980s and that the problem was not unique to South Africa.