UAV Update from Air Force
Today’s Bloggers’ Roundtable was with Lt. Gen. Norman Seip, the Twelfth Air Force and Air Forces Southern commander. Three main topics were discussed, the Air Force’s Soft Power program in Latin America, the wing crack issue in the A-10 fleet and the UAV / drone program.
General Seip reported that 85% of the Air Force’s UAV’s are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The remainder are being used for training in the United States.
He did not have at hand the average length of the pilot training program, but was able to tell us that it had been shortened based upon experience to date. The pilots learn similar skills to those required to fly ground attack aircraft, with the major differences being the pilot’s surroundings and the point of view of the pilot. The UAV pilot flies from a container on the ground and that provides a vastly different feel than the cockpit. The pilot must also learn to interpret what he sees through the camera and instruments of the UAV versus the view he gets through the windscreen.
Experienced ground attack pilots, the General noted, do better with the training than pilots from other types of aircraft.
When asked about the possibility of using enlisted personnel to fly the UAV’s, General Seip referred to a test program where Air Force officers with no flight training are being trained as UAV operators.
Seip was quite emphatic that the Air Force is 100% behind the concept of UAV’s and will purchase more UAV’s than aircraft in the coming years.
General Seip was asked about the growing number of UAV programs in other nations and the potential for their use by enemy states, terrorists or narcotics smugglers. He assured us that “a lot of very smart captains and majors” are at work considering these issues, and the necessary tactics and strategies to counter future UAV threats.
