U.S. Army + U.S.A.F. Urgently Need More UAV Pilots

November 12, 2009

While the U.S. Air Force struggles to train 400 UAV operators a year, the U.S. Army is training 1,400, and is increasing that to 2,300 by next year. Most of the army operators use the small (five pound) Raven UAV, which provides platoons, companies, and vehicle convoys with aerial reconnaissance. Interestingly, UAV operators spend about 1,200 hours a year controlling UAVs in the air, versus 450 hours for army helicopter pilots and even less for air force pilots in the combat zone. Most army UAV operators are enlisted troops, while all USAF operators are officers. The Raven training lasts approximately 80 hours, but this tiny UAV was designed for ease of use. It takes about five times longer to train operators for larger UAVs such as the Shadow and Predator.

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