After some early experiments, the Air Force announced that it is establishing an official, dedicated “undergraduate RPA training (URT)” pipeline. The first class is slated to begin in October 2010.
According to the release, RPA (UAV) pilots will be part of the 18X career field, which is a rated field equivalent to traditional aviators. They will receive aviation incentive pay, and incur a 6 year active duty service commitment.
According to press reports, the US Army reprimanded four officers and “called on the Air Force to investigate the actions” of Predator operators after their actions resulted in a strike on a civilian convoy in Afghanistan.
The order to attack was based on inaccurate information from the crew at an Air Force base in Nevada Read more
The US Marines are putting Hellfire surface-attack missiles on one of their less traditional airframes:
A KC-130 aerial refueling tanker/transport.
In fact, it’s a fascinating (if not completely new) idea. Over the years ideas have been floated from putting hundreds of air-to-air missiles on the B-52 to turning C-5 and C-17 cargo aircraft into bombers. (The payload of a B-2 is reportedly 40,000lbs. The C-5: 250,000lbs.) What were once innovative flights of fancy by aircraft designers and Air Force operators are now standard fare (ie, the addition of Hellfire missiles to the Predator UAV).
Still, a little caution is warranted. Necessity is often the mother of invention (reference the early AC-119 Gunships in Vietnam). However, boredom and “mission-envy” sometimes play a role as well.
Popular Mechanics, as repeated at FoxNews, notes the US Army’s increasing reliance on and acquisition of UAVs.
Maj. Gen. James Barclay III, the commanding general in charge of Army aviation, today released the “Unmanned Aircraft Systems [UAS] Roadmap 2010–2035” at an Army aviation conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Its subtitle, “Eyes of the Army,” hints at the plan’s early focus on reconnaissance, but the scope of the roadmap expands…
The article describes a “rivalry” between the Air Force and the Army– Read more
The US military announced that pilot error was to blame for the loss of a pilot-less UAV in Afghanistan.
After an inflight-change of mission crew for an MQ-1 Predator, the new pilot
realized the elevation around the aircraft exceeded its altitude…
That’s kind of like realizing your keys are still in the ignition after your locked car door slams shut. Only worse. The good news, in one respect, Read more
Several major news outlets have reported on the “leaked” video of what appears to be a US helicopter gun attack on civilians. News of the video has been distributed under the “collateral murder” moniker. Reportedly, a Reuters photographer and driver were killed, as were about a dozen others in a small group. A van subsequently comes to the scene and is also fired upon; in the van were two children who were wounded.
While not exclusively a fighter pilot topic, the video does shed some light into an area not often discussed in the public eye. There are times when Read more
The US Air Force has long flown QF-4s, with the Q designation indicating that the aircraft is a “drone.” The drones are still sometimes flown by a pilot in the cockpit, but are modified to be able to be flown unmanned, with control coming from a ground control station. They are used as targets for various missions, often testing of air-to-air missiles and radar systems. Though there are generally safeguards to protect the drone (it is expensive, after all), drones do occasionally get shot down (and that is also sometimes the objective).
Apparently, a “dwindling supply” of QF-4s (and also a shrinking supply of parts to keep them flying) has inspired the Air Force to now begin turning F-16s into drones. Boeing has reported the award of a the first part of a $69 million contract to convert 126 aircraft, reportedly from the boneyard, to QF-16 “Full Scale Aerial Targets,” aka “drones.”
In theory, the F-16 will be “easier” to convert than older aircraft, as it already has a computer-controlled, fly-by-wire flight control system, as opposed to the mechanical stick-and-rudder of the F-4 and prior airframes.
The QF-16s will apparently be the US Air Force’s newest “RPVs.”
The US Air Force Academy recently awarded “UAS-RPA” wings to its first group of cadets. Cadets had already been authorized to wear glider wings if they were an Academy glider pilot or jump wings if they were parachutist qualified.
The display is the latest effort by the US Air Force to “normalize” the unmanned aerial vehicle career field and encourage its development within the Air Force culture.