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Outdated Salaries, Poor Structure, and Few Prospects Are Accelerating the Departure of FAB Pilots. By 2025, the Number of Departures Is Already Threatening to Set a Record. Meanwhile, Private Companies Offer Bonuses of Up to R$ 80 Thousand.
The crisis that was announced in 2024 has fully exploded in 2025. Between January and March of this year alone, 22 FAB pilots requested to leave. The total number of officers who have left the Air Force has already reached 45 military personnel, including engineers, doctors, and highly specialized professionals. It is a mass exodus — and worst of all: it is just beginning.
The projection is worrying. If the pace continues, Brazil will witness the largest exodus in its military aviation history. The root of the problem? Lack of appreciation. FAB pilots, trained to fly fighters, transport, and patrol aircraft, are abandoning their uniforms in search of better salaries and, mainly, better working conditions.
FAB Pilots: Trained with Public Money, But Flying to the Private Sector
Training a military aviator is not cheap. It is estimated that each FAB pilot represents an investment of over R$ 100 million, considering training at the Air Force Academy, flight hours, specialization courses, and ongoing training. All of this funded with public resources.
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Even so, professionals are leaving. A first lieutenant aviator, responsible for commanding aircraft worth millions of dollars, earns around R$ 13 thousand gross per month. A commercial pilot can earn between R$ 15 thousand and R$ 20 thousand, not counting bonuses and incentives. LATAM alone, for example, paid R$ 80 thousand upfront to new pilots approved in its 2024 selection process.
It’s hard to compete.
Heavy Routine, Little Appreciation: Why Are So Many Leaving?
The reports are recurring. Many FAB pilots complain that they receive the same base salary as infantry officers, despite dealing with extremely high responsibility, handling strategic equipment, often in risky situations.
The number of flights within the FAB has been limited due to a lack of resources, parts, and even fuel. In practice, this means many military aviators fly less than they would like — or than they need to maintain the required command hours even to change careers. This creates a paradox: they are trained to fly, but end up grounded.
Another factor that weighs on the decision to leave the Force: bureaucratic stress. Delayed missions, outdated maintenance, unmet flight hour goals, and an increasingly rigid and politicized promotion system.
And the Impact of This? Real Loss of Operational Capability
The departure of FAB pilots directly affects the readiness of Brazilian air defense. By 2025 alone, seven F-5 fighter pilots have already left — the same ones who defend the nation’s skies in the event of airspace violations. They served at strategic bases such as Canoas (RS) and Galeão (RJ).
The immediate impact is the reduction of active squadrons, an increased burden on those who remain, and difficulty in replenishing personnel since training a new aviator takes at least ten years.
Even more serious: the exodus of pilots is not an isolated case. It is part of a structural crisis in the Armed Forces. In total, 23 other officers from technical areas have also left the FAB in the first months of the year. This means a loss of engineers, air traffic controllers, medical personnel, and support staff — all with strategic training for the functioning of the Air Force.
The Numbers Don’t Add Up: Change Now, or the Loss Will Be Huge
The situation is so critical that, if nothing is done, Brazil risks losing its air deterrence capability. And in an increasingly unstable geopolitical scenario — with tensions in Venezuela, the advancement of drug trafficking at the borders, and external pressures — this could come at a very high cost.
History shows that countries with weak Armed Forces pay the highest price. Brazil has 8.5 million km² and one of the largest natural wealth reserves in the world. It cannot relinquish its sovereignty due to a lack of investment and management.
Valuing FAB pilots is not just a matter of salary. It is a matter of national security. They are trained with public money to protect the country, but they are being absorbed by private companies that recognize — and compensate — their value.
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