Does a 15k bonus for drone pilots mark the future end to piloted aircraft?

Col Lenertz-

I want to interject on the Air Force belief that a rated pilot be the one to operate the long range (heavy) drones. I would be a perfect exception to that rule (see my profile pic), as I am an enlisted member of the Arizona Guard, but also a rated and very successful corporate pilot as well. That being the case, why wouldn t I be qualified to fly something like the Global Hawk? OPSEC not withstanding (IE, comms interfaces, control links, all the stuff that makes a drone, a drone), it cannot be anywhere near as complicated to operate.

BUT-, and there is always a BUT-I am wondering what the training requirements and regimen is like for the Army operators...if they are giving a watered down version of flight training, and cannot comprehend what a spin is, how it is caused, and what the proper recovery is...then I can certainly see how the argument rated pilots will hold up. Its talking in two completely different languages...if there is a change that needs to be made to the training program, then that should be done accordingly.

And the last but not least-I agree that no one wants to be a drone pilot. None of the time spent at the controls of a drone can count for any sort of time at the hands of an airplane for any sort of PIC time. That s going to be HUGE for anyone-if they havent done their research, go to apply for an ATP license or thinking they are going to get a job at SWA when they skip out of the military, they are in for a rude awakening.

I wholeheartedly agree the 15K bonus is sticking a bandaid on an arterial wound.

SGT (Join to see) - As a rated corporate pilot, (and I assume commercial, instrument, complex, and multi-engine ratings), you are certainly more than capable of flying the large drones. The AF, being a huge bureaucracy, can only make broad rules and can't account for individual exceptions, like you. So they make it easy on themselves and say "rated pilots", meaning officers who completed UPT, not an FAA rating like you and I mean it.
I do not know the training regimen for Army gray eagle operators, so I can't speak to it, but I expect the Army has a very solid safety and accident investigation program, and will make changes to the Gray Eagle program to decrease mishap rates.

Col Lenertz-we know the astronomical rates at which these UAV s cost. We also know that they are a battlefield enhancement and definitely a force multiplier on the recon front. Sun Tzu would be proud.

That all being said-is there anything that can be done on the front from the AF side of allowing drone pilots to go up in a multi engine complex aircraft every month in order to maintain currency?

What do they do, finish UPT and don t send them to an AQC course, and tell them "Hey go learn this drone for 3 weeks", and then kick them in the butt?

SGT (Join to see) - During the cold war, SAC had a program called "ACE", Accelerated Copilot Enhancement, which allowed B-52 and KC-135 pilots to fly T-37s and T-38s on mission-planning days and weekends, to compensate for the lack of flying time in their primary aircraft (due to SAC Alert duty). One of the possible solutions being discussed for UAV pilot retention is a spin on ACE, similar to what you proposed...give them some real flying time in a "secondary" aircraft. Flying time costs money, so they have to work out the right balance.

COL Charles Williams, Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS, back in the '60s the first drones I saw were fighter planes instrumented to be flown remotely; we used them as targets for weapons systems that were under development. It made sense then for the drone pilots to be rated pilots checked out in the fighters.

Now with so much computerized control, drones pretty much fly on autopilot with manual override. There is no reason, other than tradition, that enlisted personnel cannot fly them. It makes more sense to put systems in skilled hands regardless of rank, IMHO.

If enlisted personnel can be trusted with mortars and artillery there is no reason I can see not to trust them with armed drones as well.

If the Combat Engineers did have a "12B Drone Platoon," I can easily imagine that it wouldn't be long before we organized a "Pinewood Derby" of sorts to see who could most efficiently execute the mission. The really clever devils would disable the competing drones, though, so that would become cost-prohibitive in a HEARTBEAT!

Capt Seid Waddell I don't believe it's a "trust" issue. I think it's just a combination of factors, both historical as CDR Michael Goldschmidt mentioned and financial as I mentioned which created the overarching situation. I believe that as the costs decrease, the justifications for keeping it officer only are going to be whittled away.

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS, good point.

One of the most distinct sounds you will ever here. I cannot lie, when the rumors were floating around a decade ago about the Army getting the Air Forces A-10s I would have jumped at the chance to fly one.

CW3 (Join to see) - Thanks for the pic, Chief! That's what I'm talking about, Hoo Rah!

CW3 (Join to see) - I would have definitely moved forward to put my packet in if I was able to get in these bad boys.

And they're even faster than a chopper, marginally, I think, so I guess you would have been trading up all the way around.