Advancing Pilot G‑Tolerance: Evidence‑Based Innovations in Anti G Straining Maneuver Training

Funding opportunity

Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), in partnership with Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), invites proposals under the Joint Federal Research Funding Program (JFRFP) to advance scientific understanding and training effectiveness of the Anti‑G Straining Maneuver (AGSM) used by Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) pilots. This funding opportunity seeks integrative, multidisciplinary research to inform improved AGSM training approaches, with the goals of enhancing G‑force (Gz) tolerance, reducing the risk of G‑induced loss of consciousness (GLOC), and supporting operational performance in next‑generation high‑performance aircraft.

Anticipated timeline and budget

Background

Evolving aircraft performance profiles and sustained high‑Gz exposures increasingly challenge the adequacy of certification‑focused AGSM training, underscoring the need for a stronger evidence base to guide future approaches. AGSM is a complex performance capability integrating breathing patterns, coordinated isometric muscle activation, anticipatory timing, and self‑monitoring under stress, all while managing high cognitive workload. While often treated operationally as a single skill, AGSM is more appropriately conceptualized as a contextually sensitive psychophysiological competency composed of interacting subcomponents.

Current training approaches rely heavily on certification‑based assessment and may underemphasize skill consolidation, fatigue management, and transfer to operational conditions. Emerging research suggests opportunities to strengthen AGSM training through improved understanding of physiological, motor learning, and psychophysiological contributors to performance. This funding opportunity supports research that identifies modifiable determinants of AGSM performance and translates findings into actionable guidance for training, remediation, and future solution development.

Research objectives

Proposals should address the following objectives:

• Advance the evidence base related to physiological, respiratory, neuromuscular, perceptual, and cognitive contributors to AGSM performance.
• Identify and prioritize modifiable factors that enhance Gz tolerance or execution consistency under fatigue and cognitive load.
• Develop and prioritize evidence‑informed AGSM performance attributes or determinants based on modifiability, feasibility, and anticipated training impact.
• Translate scientific findings into practical guidance, requirements, or design considerations to inform future AGSM training approaches.
• Support equitable and feasible implementation by examining how sex‑ and gender‑related factors (GBA+) influence relevant physiological, neuromuscular, and learning‑related determinants under high‑Gz and fatigue conditions.

Relevant domains may include exercise and respiratory physiology, motor learning, biomechanics, aerospace medicine, and human factors.

Scope of Activities

The proposed work may include, but is not limited to:

• Experimental, observational, or modeling studies examining physiological or motor learning aspects of AGSM performance.
• Exploratory or feasibility studies using ethically approved analogues (e.g., laboratory‑ or simulation‑based models).
• Development of evidence‑informed principles, performance indicators, or training considerations.
• Knowledge mobilization products supporting future training design, policy, or research decisions.
• Literature reviews or evidence syntheses related to AGSM, high‑G physiology, respiratory strategies, or skill acquisition under load.

Methodological flexibility is encouraged; proposals should articulate clear research questions, anticipated contributions, and relevance without prescribing specific protocols or technical solutions.

Expected outputs

Anticipated outputs may include:

• Identification and prioritization of factors relevant to AGSM performance under operationally relevant conditions.
• Evidence‑informed frameworks or performance considerations to support future training evaluation or design.
• Decision‑ready knowledge products to inform subsequent applied research, training development, or policy discussions.

Applicant Eligibility and Expertise

• Principal Investigator holding a PhD or MD in a relevant discipline (e.g., exercise or respiratory physiology, biomechanics, motor learning, aerospace medicine, or human factors).
• Teams should collectively demonstrate appropriate expertise, access to facilities and analytic capability, experience with human research ethics and data governance, and capacity for applied knowledge mobilization.
• Research involving CAF personnel will require appropriate approvals prior to funding release.

Application Process

Please download and submit the Research Funding Application form.

Applicants are advised to include eight weeks of administrative lead-time in their timelines. This will allow for ethics board submission and approval (if required), and the drafting and signing of the funding agreement.

Enquiries

Questions about this funding opportunity can be sent to the VAC Research office.