Air Force Trying to “Fix” Shortage of Drone Pilots

[longknife]

Have to go down a bit to read the part that shows how hung up the brass are about who gets to fly them.


One other change that could be made to expand the pool of drone pilots would be to allow enlisted airmen, rather than just officers, to pilot drones. As of now, that’s not happening.


Lots of countries around the world allow non-officers to fly real airplanes. So why not seek out the nerds who seem to spend their lives at game controllers to do the same with drones?


Read the short story @ Air Force Offering Bonus Pay to Lure Drone Pilots

 

[whitehall]

To be clear they don't actually "pilot" the things anymore than an air traffic controller pilots a commercial plane. They push the things around in the sky with aid of super sophisticated computers. The problem for modern combat Troops is that they can't fire a shot on their own or an artillery round without permission from staff officers and sometimes even the fat asses at the Pentagon or face murder charges so it stands to reason that the people who operate the drones and use them as weapons have to be cleared by high ranking officers.

 

[waltky]

Using civilians to free up airmen...

Questions Raised as AF Hires Civilian Drone Pilots for Combat Patrols
Nov 30, 2015 | The Air Force has hired civilian defense contractors to fly MQ-9 Reaper drones to help track suspected militants and other targets in global hot spots, a previously undisclosed expansion in the privatization of once-exclusively military functions.

For the first time, civilian pilots and crews now operate what the Air Force calls "combat air patrols," daily round-the-clock flights above areas of military operations to provide video and collect other sensitive intelligence. Contractors control two Reaper patrols a day, but the Air Force plans to expand that to 10 a day by 2019. Each patrol involves up to four drones. Civilians are not allowed to pinpoint targets with lasers or fire missiles. They operate only Reapers that provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, known as ISR, said Air Force Gen. Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, head of Air Combat Command. "There are limitations on it," he said. The contractors "are not combatants." Nonetheless, the contracts have generated controversy within the military.

MQ-9 Reaper​

Critics, including some military lawyers, contend that civilians are now part of what the Air Force calls the "kill chain," a process that starts with surveillance and ends with a missile launch. That could violate laws barring civilians from taking part in armed conflict. The use of contractors reflects in part the Pentagon's growing problem in recruiting, training and retaining military drone pilots for the intensifying air war against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. It is several hundred short of its goal of 1,281 pilots. The contractors are Aviation Unmanned, a small, 3-year-old company based in Addison, Texas, and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., a far-larger firm based in Poway, outside San Diego, that is the only supplier of armed drones to the Pentagon.

A redacted Air Force document approving the classified contract with Aviation Unmanned notes that the "lack of appropriately cleared and currently qualified MQ-9 pilots is a major concern." The five-page document, dated Aug. 24, says the company will provide pilots and sensor operators for government-owned Reapers to help respond to "recent increased terrorist activities." A similar document, dated April 15, approved a classified contract to lease a General Atomics-owned Reaper and ground control station for a year and to hire the pilots, sensor operators and other crew members needed to fly and maintain it. The Reaper "is needed immediately" for surveillance and reconnaissance, the document states. Both documents black out the cost, as well as most details of the missions and sensors involved.

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[Silent Warrior]

Drone piloting is the one area where REMF's actually participate in war.

 

[waltky]

Drone pilots now classified as 'attack squadrons'...

Whiteman Drone Pilots Receive New, More Prestigious Title
Apr 23, 2016 | WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. — The US Air Force will now recognize drone pilots who conduct remote military strikes from Whiteman Air Force Base as "attack squadrons," a designation with more prestige that could help with retention and recruitment.

The Air Force made the decision last week amid increased national attention to the unique form of stress these pilots face, The Springfield News-Leader reports. Whiteman is home to the 20th Reconnaissance Squadron, which includes technicians, administrators, and pilots who operate the MQ-1 Predator, an unmanned aerial vehicle used for gathering intelligence and conducting deadly strikes. Drone pilots aren't physically on the battlefield in Afghanistan or Iraq, but they conduct deadly strikes on militant fighters abroad and can often see the resulting bloodshed on live video. The unit will now be called the 20th Attack Squadron under the policy change.

A US Air Force pilot (L), and a censor operator (R), prepare to launch an MQ-1B Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), from a ground control station at a secret air base in the Persian Gulf region last January.​

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said in a news release that these airmen are under significant stress as a result of their duties. "They are in the fight every day," James said. "These policy changes recognize the burdens they bear in providing combat effects for joint war-fighters around the world." A study by the Pentagon in 2013 concluded drone pilots have a similar rate of mental health problems as regular combat pilots.

Last year, a Hollywood film, "The Good Kill," compared the remote-controlled warfare of these drone pilots with playing video games. The movie questioned whether it allowed pilots to become too detached from victims of war. A Whiteman spokesman referred questions about the new policy to a Nevada's Creech Air Force Base spokeswoman, who didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Whiteman Drone Pilots Receive New, More Prestigious Title | Military.com

See also:

Navy Installs First Drone Command Center aboard Aircraft Carrier
Apr 22, 2016 | A drone command center has been installed aboard an aircraft carrier for the first time, signifying the Navy's commitment to a future of unmanned aviation. The center was installed last week aboard the San Diego-based USS Carl Vinson, and the next one will be placed next year aboard the Norfolk-based USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, according to the Navy.

The command centers will be used for a drone that's still under development that will refuel aircraft and conduct intelligence and surveillance operations. The MQ-XX will be the Navy's first carrier-based unmanned aircraft. The drone is being designed to replace the F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet in their roles as aerial tankers. Doing so will preserve the fighter jets' flight hours for their primary missions, according to congressional testimony on Wednesday from Vice Admiral Paul A. Grosklags, commander of Naval Air Systems Command.

The Navy said the MQ-XX is scheduled to be operational in the mid-2020s. "Having a UAV asset that provides persistent, potentially 24/7, surveillance coverage for the strike group is a game changer," said Rear Adm. James Loeblein, commander of Carrier Strike Group 1, in a statement. "Putting additional ISR capacity into the warfare commander's hands increases the flexibility and warfare capability of the entire strike group." The initials referred to an "unmanned aerial vehicle" and "intelligence, surveillance and reconnaisance."

The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson sails out of San Diego Harbor leaving for a nine-month deployment​

The Navy plans to phase in the MQ-XX system and apply lessons it learns from the Carl Vinson to other aircraft carriers. The Navy declined to say how large the command center is or specify where it's located, but it did say it uses space freed up by relocating diagnostic maintenance equipment. The completion of all phases of installation is scheduled for 2022. Future aircraft carriers are being built with the ability to operate drones from them in mind. "We are carving out precious real estate on board the carrier, knowing that the carrier of the future will have manned and unmanned systems on it," Capt. Karl Thomas, the Carl Vinson's commanding officer, said in a statement.

The MQ-XX is the result of testing the X-47B, which made history in 2013 when it became the first unmanned aircraft to take off and land on a carrier, the Norfolk-based USS George H.W. Bush. In 2015, the X-47B also successfully conducted an autonomous mid-air refueling. The Carl Vinson Strike Group is scheduled to deploy to the western Pacific in 2017. The Eisenhower is scheduled to deploy to the Middle East this summer.

Navy Installs First Drone Command Center aboard Aircraft Carrier | Military.com