Arlington, Va. — The Air Force announced Jan. 23 the details of the fiscal year 2019 Aviation Bonus program.
The fiscal 2019 AvB program is designed to augment continuing aircrew retention efforts across the Air Force, by offering experienced aviators bonuses for signing tier-based contracts, ranging from three to 12 years of continued service.
Congress raised the annual maximum aviation bonus from $25,000 to $35,000 in the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act and required the Air Force to present aviation bonuses based on a business case analysis. The Air Force evaluates its rated inventory every year to ensure the AvB program is tailored to meet the service’s needs.
For the fiscal 2019 RegAF program, the following bonus amounts and contract lengths are being offered to active duty aviators whose initial undergraduate flying training service commitment expires in fiscal 2019:
Bomber pilots (11B), fighter pilots (11F) and mobility pilots (11M)
Annual payments of $35,000 for contract lengths of three to 12 years
Lump-sum, up-front payment options of $100,000 exist for seven to nine year contracts and $200,000 for 10-12 year contracts
Remotely piloted aircraft pilots (18X/11U) and special operations forces pilots (11S)
Annual payments of $35,000 for contract lengths of three to twelve years
Command and control/intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance pilots (11R) and combat search and rescue fixed wing pilots (11H)
Annual payments of $30,000 for contract lengths of three to nine years and $35,000 for contract lengths of 10-12 years
A lump-sum, up-front payment option of $100,000 exists for seven to nine year contracts
Combat search and rescue rotary wing pilots (11H)
Annual payments of $25,000 for contract lengths of three to nine years
Combat systems officers (12X) and air battle managers (13B)
Annual payments of $20,000 for contract lengths of three to six years and $25,000 for contract lengths of seven to nine years
For aviators whose contracts have expired or who have never signed a previous AvB agreement, the following bonus amounts and contract lengths are being offered:
Pilots (11X) and RPA pilots (11U/12U/13U/18X)
Annual payments of $25,000 to $35,000 based on the three to six year rates of the member’s core community identification as set above for contract lengths ranging from three to nine years
Contracts may not extend the Airman beyond 24 years of aviation service
Combat systems officers (12X) and air battle managers (13B)
Annual payments of $20,000 for contract lengths of three to five years
Eligible Airmen must have 19 years or greater of total active federal military Service and contracts may not extend the Airman beyond 24 years of aviation service
The application window for Airmen interested in applying for the fiscal 2019 AvB program will be open until Aug. 30, 2019. For full eligibility requirements and details about program changes in fiscal 2019, Airmen should visit the myPers website at https://mypers.af.mil.
