Air Force cuts pilot training by 5 weeks

That could be very dangerous.

What the article doesn't speak to is that very few new pilots go from graduating UPT to being in an operational unit. Sure technology has enabled the Air Force to cut 5 weeks from pilot training and thus increase basic pilot training production that is sorely needed. But those UPT graduates go on to Combat Crew Training Squadrons (CCTS) where, depending on the aircraft track they are on, they learn to fly the actual aircraft they will be flying operationally. CCTS is where the impact of reducing UPT by 5 weeks may or may not show up. I've got some limited experience with this from my days in FB-111s. I was going through requalification after spending time in maintenance when the first straight out of UPT crews came to the 111 CCTS. I don't recall any significant impact on class completion schedules when this started, but I do remember instructors saying they had to spend more one on one time with these students compared to those who had come from flying other aircraft. From my experience there is no cut back in training at the CCTS level when UPT students arrive, they're expected to have basic flying skills and knowledge, but no concept of the aircraft they are there to learn how to fly.

I think the Air Force is reacting to a couple realities: 1. The airlines are hiring new pilots at an unprecedented rate, and it is seriously harming the USAF's ability to retain pilots. So we need to build more pilots per year, but we lack the infrastructure we had 15 years ago. Congress (BRAC) shut down two of our primary UPT bases (Williams AFB AZ was the most productive UPT base due to its great weather, but it was axed in BRAC). So the AF is reacting to retention problems by training more pilots within its limited UPT infrastructure, by shortening UPT timelines. 2. Technology has dramatically improved the accuracy and training value of simulators, so the AF is taking advantage of that. By the way, Red Flag is still going strong, at Nellis AFB.
https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/01/25/largest-red-flag-exercise-to-date-begins-in-nevada/