Vance grad is first to go straight to UAVs

[unhappycamper]

Vance grad is first to go straight to UAVs
Staff report
Posted : Tuesday Oct 28, 2008 6:55:53 EDT

One of the first airmen assigned straight to UAV duty graduated Friday from undergraduate pilot training, JSUPT Class 09-01 at Vance Air Force Base, Okla.

First Lt. Patrick Lebow will be one of at least 300 brand-new pilots sent to Creech Air Force Base, N.M., over the next three years — part of an aggressive effort to double the number of Predator and Reaper orbits in the Central Command area of responsibility by 2012. To do that, the Air Force wants to more than double its UAV pilots, from about 450 to about 1,100.

Another part of the plan — to get non-rated officers behind the joystick — takes off in January, when the first test group of 10 officers enters a new training course.

Lebow, who entered the Air Force through Officer Training School, learned of his assignment Oct. 9.

“I spent the first 24 hours just kind of processing it. I experienced the whole gamut of emotions at that point,” Lebow said in a Vance news release. “As I’ve been thinking about it, I see it as somewhat of a retooling of my dreams, not necessarily taking them away by any means. I’m looking forward to what lies ahead.”


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/10/airforce_upt_uav_102708/%2e

[SheilaT]

1. What is UAV?

Some of us aren't completely up to date on Air Force acronyms.

[unhappycamper]

2. UAV = Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

The larger ones are the Predator, the Reaper, and the Global Hawk.

[SheilaT]

4. Thank you.

I appreciate the information.

[bigbrother05]

3. Unmanned aircraft

The smart drones they are using in Iraq and Afghanistan. Basically they took a flight qualified officer/pilot and directly assigned him to remote control flying. Think they are using fully qualified pilots to control the UAVs that are armed. Other UAVs used for surveillance aren't always controlled by officer pilots, but Warrant Officer pilots (chopper qualified) are often used.


There is a lot of wrestling between the services over these things, both who flies them and who "owns" them.

[SheilaT]

5. Thank you.

It's always good to learn something new.