USA's FAA Proposes Ending Third-Class Medical Requirement for Military Pilot Trainees

USA – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would allow qualifying US and US-sponsored foreign military pilot trainees to use a current US military pilot medical examination instead of separately obtaining an FAA third-class medical certificate. The proposed change would remove a duplicate certification step from civilian flight-school programmes used by the US Armed Forces, supporting the military’s expanding use of FAA-certificated schools for initial pilot training.

• The FAA estimates that 2,000 military trainees annually are currently covered by existing exemptions — comprising 1,850 US Armed Forces trainees and 150 US-sponsored foreign military trainees — while the US Air Force has identified another 450 trainees who could become eligible if the rule is adopted.
• The FAA estimates eliminating the additional medical-certification process would generate approximately USD946,000 in annual savings beginning in 2027. Its analysis assigns USD437 in avoided applicant costs and USD36 in FAA processing costs to each of the 2,000 applications, with estimated discounted savings of USD2.9 million to USD3.4 million over five years.
• The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on August 10, 2026 under Docket FAA-2026-9177 and Notice 26-13. Public comments are due by October 9, 2026.
• Current FAA regulations generally require military pilot trainees seeking civil pilot certificates or ratings to hold at least a third-class medical certificate before conducting solo flights and practical tests in civil aircraft. Military pilots have been able to rely on qualifying military medical examinations for certain civil flying since a 2009 regulatory change, but that relief did not originally extend to trainees who had not yet attained military pilot status.
• The FAA granted an exemption in 2019 for qualifying foreign military students receiving US-sponsored civil flight training and subsequently granted Air Education and Training Command Exemption No. 23890 in May 2025 for US Air Force pilot trainees attending Part 141 schools. The current Air Force trainee exemption is scheduled to expire in 2027.
• If finalised as proposed, the regulatory relief would extend to trainees sponsored by the US Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Space Force, Coast Guard, National Guard and Reserve units rather than remaining dependent on Air Force-specific exemptions.
• Eligible individuals would need an up-to-date US military pilot medical examination authorising pilot flight status and must be actively receiving pilot training sponsored by a branch of the US Armed Forces. The definition would include qualifying foreign military trainees participating in US-sponsored programmes but would cease to apply if an individual left the military training programme.
• The proposal would not automatically recognise every military medical examination. The FAA specifies that the examination must be intended to establish medical eligibility for in-flight military pilot duties and states that examinations authorising only remote-pilot status would not qualify under the proposed definition.
• The FAA said US military pilot medical standards applicable to the proposal meet or exceed the safety level established by its third-class medical standards. The regulator therefore considers the additional FAA certificate redundant for trainees who remain subject to military aeromedical oversight.
• The rule is directly connected to the Air Force’s increasing use of civilian Part 141 schools. Under its current Initial Pilot Training model, military students can complete civilian training leading to an FAA Private Pilot Certificate, multi-engine land rating and instrument-airplane rating before progressing into military-operated phases of pilot training.
• AFM previously reported that US Aviation Academy received a 10-year, USD835.6 million US Air Force Initial Pilot Training contract extending through December 2035, with approximately 110 flight hours delivered under FAA Part 141 rules before students transition to military training.

Source: Federal Aviation Administration