A four-phase pipeline. Fundamentals in the Tucano. Fighter skills in the supersonic F-5.
Military fighter pilots progress through a structured pipeline: primary training in a turboprop, advanced training in a jet, then fighter transition before they ever touch their assigned aircraft. Each stage builds on the last. Every hour of fundamentals flown in a trainer is an hour that does not need to be flown in a frontline fighter. Our pipeline follows the same progression.
Military Path
- PrimaryT-6 Texan II
- AdvancedT-38 Talon
- Fighter TransitionAssigned fighter
Overwatch Path
- Primary and AdvancedShort Tucano T1
- Fighter FundamentalsF-5 Tiger II
- Mission QualificationF-5 Tiger II
Note / The F-5 and T-38 come from the same Northrop family.
Phase I
Primary
TUCANOBuild the foundation: aircraft control, judgment, and procedural discipline in a forgiving turboprop.
- Ground school
- Contact flying
- Aerobatics
- Stalls and spins
- Duration
- [X weeks]
- Flight Hours
- [X]
Graduation standard / Solo proficiency in contact, aerobatic, and instrument flight with sound emergency handling.
View Phase →Phase II
Advanced
TUCANOMove from flying an aircraft to flying as part of a formation, at low level, at night, and on instruments.
- 2-ship and 4-ship formation
- Tactical formation
- Low-level navigation
- Night and advanced instruments
- Duration
- [X weeks]
- Flight Hours
- [X]
Graduation standard / Lead and wing proficiency in tactical formation and low-level navigation, day and night.
View Phase →Phase III
Fighter Fundamentals
F-5Transition to the jet and learn to fight it: supersonic flight, BFM, ACM, and basic surface attack.
- Jet transition and supersonic flight
- High-performance formation
- Offensive, defensive, and neutral BFM
- ACM and intercepts
- Duration
- [X weeks]
- Flight Hours
- [X]
Graduation standard / Safe and effective BFM, ACM, and surface attack execution with fighter-standard briefs and debriefs.
View Phase →Phase IV
Mission Qualification
F-5Fly real missions. Prove readiness as a flight member on live Overwatch sorties.
- Flight member on live Blue Air SIM CAS sorties
- Red Air employment when available
- Standardization and evaluation checkride
- Combat-ready certification
- Duration
- [X weeks]
- Flight Hours
- [X]
Graduation standard / Combat-ready certification. Eligible to fly Overwatch contracts.
View Phase →Graduates fly as flight members on live Overwatch Blue Air sorties, then become eligible to fly Overwatch contracts.
Train
Qualify
Fly Contracts
A combat-ready fighter pilot represents years of training and one of the largest investments a military makes in any single person. Retaining, sustaining, and accelerating that talent is a readiness problem. Overwatch exists to help solve it.