By Marina Malenic
The Air Force plans to create a new career field for pilots of unmanned aircraft but will take immediate steps to kick-start the new program by diverting some conventional pilots to the effort, a top service official said yesterday.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said the “insatiable” demand for Predator and Reaper missions in Iraq and Afghanistan led to the decision. He told a military and defense industry audience at the annual Air Force Association conference in Washington yesterday that the service will begin placing pilots into the fledgling program immediately following completion of their undergraduate pilot training (UPT).
In the coming weeks, Air Force officials will select approximately 10 percent of UPT graduates to begin unmanned aerial systems (UAS) training at Creech AFB, Nev., when they graduate in October, Brig. Gen. Lyn Sherlock said during a press briefing at the conference. Sherlock is an air operations official at Air Force headquarters.
The goal is to have 1,100 UAS pilots in the Air Force by 2012. Sherlock said that number does not include sensor operators and other support personnel.
Air Force officials said these pilots will fly drones for three to four years but will then return to their original career track.
Meanwhile, beginning in January, 10 active duty officers without pilot training will enter a test program for development of a separate UAS pilot career track. Initial training will begin in Pueblo, Colo., where the Air Force conducts introductory flight screening.
Gen. Steve Lorenz, chief of Air Education Training Command, predicted that UAS piloting will be embraced with enthusiasm.
“Over time, people will volunteer for this mission,” Lorenz told reporters.
Just this year, Predators and Reapers have flown more than 4,400 sorties, logging over 81,800 combat flight hours, according to the Air Force’s public affairs office. The fleets are expanding, and the demand for their services is growing dramatically, according to Air Force officials. Commanders have begun relying on the systems for their intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, and weaponized drones are being sent to the battlefield in greater numbers.
However, in a service that has long attached great prestige to the fighter pilot’s mission, the growth of unmanned fighters could be met with resistance.
“This will certainly be a cultural change,” Sherlock admitted. “There is no doubt about it.”
Meanwhile, Raytheon [RTN] announced the development of an advanced common ground control system (CGCS) for the Predator UAS. The company has submitted an unsolicited bid to the Air Force for the system, Mark Bigham, business development director for Raytheon’s Intelligence and Information Systems, said earlier this week.
Raytheon says it can produce the first ground control system in less than a year and projects cost savings of more than $500 million over 10 years through reduction of manpower and training costs, as well as aircraft losses due to human error.