Air Force Creates New Pilot Programs for Drones

Scrambling to meet commanders' insatiable demands for unmanned

aircraft, the Air Force is launching two new training programs, including an
experimental one that would churn out up to 1,100 desperately needed
pilots to fly the drones over Iraq and Afghanistan.

As many as 700 Air Force personnel have expressed some interest in the
test program, which will create a new brand of pilot for the drones, which
are flown by remote control from a base in Nevada. That new drone operator
will learn the basics of flying a small manned plane, but will not go through
the longer, more rigorous training that their fighter jet brethren receive.

Senior Air Force officer told The Associated Press that by the end of
September 2011, the goal is to have 50 unmanned combat air patrols
operating 24 hours a day, largely over Iraq and Afghanistan. Currently there
are 30.

To generate the pilots for the increased flights, the Air Force hopes to create
separate pilot pipelines for its manned and unmanned aircraft, said Col.
Curt Sheldon, assistant to the director of air operations for unmanned
aircraft issues.

"I don't know that you could ever get (a drone) to everybody who wants one,"
Sheldon said. "I believe it is virtually insatiable. We are pedalling fast; we are
working hard to meet that need."

Besides the new test program, Sheldon said the Air Force is planning to shift
about 100 manned-aircraft pilots directly from training into jobs flying the
drones. The unmanned aircraft are mostly Predators -- hunter-killer planes
that fly in the war zone but are operated by pilots sitting at Creech Air Force
Base in Nevada.

Until now, Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) pilots have had to complete at
least one tour of flight duty before moving to the drone jobs.

The urgent push for more drone pilots has been spurred by blunt demands
from Defense Secretary Robert Gates. He has criticized the Air Force's
failure to move more quickly to meet war commanders' needs. And he set up
a task force in April to find more innovative ways to get the aircraft to the
battlefield more quickly.

Predators are playing a crucial role on the battlefields in Iraq and

Afghanistan, providing real-time surveillance video to troops on the ground,
targeting and firing Hellfire anti-tank missiles at militants, and homing in
on enemy efforts to plant roadside bombs.

Earlier this year, for example, a Predator -- probably one operated by the
CIA -- fired on a suspected terrorist safe house in Pakistan's north
Waziristan region, killing Abu Laith al-Libi, a key al-Qaida leader.