Some enlisted airmen are eager to take the controls of RPAs, and think it could provide a new way to serve their country - and also advance their careers, both in the military and civilian world. We have a shortage of pilots, and part of that is a retention issue.' 'We take these young men and women who we would like to have make a career in the Air Force, and we put them off in assignments that other people can do, and then we get surprised when they get out. 'Why would we take a fighter pilot who doesn't want to get out of the cockpit, and send him off to do that for two or three years?' Boles said. And that could help the Air Force retain those pilots whom it is driving out because they don't want to fly drones, he said. Tapping them to fill that role would mean fewer manned aircraft pilots would have to be moved to drones against their will, he said. Billy Boles, who ran AETC until he retired in 1997, wholeheartedly supports enlisted drone pilots. And it said it would start steering 80 undergraduate pilot training graduates away from traditional manned aircraft and directly into drone squadrons for one tour, typically three years long, before giving them the opportunity to move to a manned aircraft.

So in July, the Air Force announced plans to offer some Predator and Reaper drone pilots retention bonuses worth up to $135,000 beginning in fiscal 2016. This makes some reluctant to move to drones. There is also a stigma among some in the pilot community that flying RPAs somehow makes them lesser pilots than those who are actually in a cockpit. He lauded Defense Secretary Ash Carter's April decision to drop the number of RPA combat air patrols flown from 65 per day to 60, which allowed AETC to have more experienced pilots train new ones. Darryl Roberson, commander of Air Education and Training Command, said the Air Force trains 192 RPA pilots per year, and he pledged to double that to 384 in 2016. There could be conflicts regarding supervision.Īnd the Air Force isn't churning out enough drone pilots to keep up with the demand. The Air Force is concerned that the pay differential between enlisted airmen and better-paid officers doing the same job could lead to disgruntlement. When asked about enlisted airmen flying manned aircraft, James said, 'One step at a time.'Īuthorizing enlisted drone pilots could potentially have ramifications in several areas. RPA would just be the first piece, we have to look at the pilot force in general.' 'And one of the ways we could use it is not just in the RPA force.

'It's time to look at how we use this talent pool in a different way,' Welsh said in May. Welsh also opened the door to the idea of enlisted airplane pilots. She said the Air Force will finish studying the issue between November and the end of the year and she will make a decision around the beginning of 2016. 'There's no question in my mind that we need the extra help, because this is a field that has been under strain and it's one where we have more demands from our combatant commanders around the world,' James said in a Sept.

Predator drone pilot jobs