US Air Force training more drone operators than pilots

4:00AM Monday Aug 24, 2009
By Edward Helmore

As part of an expanding programme of battlefield automation, the American Air Force has said it is now training more drone operators than fighter and bomber pilots.

In a controversial shift in military thinking - one encouraged by the death of Pakistani Taleban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a drone strike on August 5 - the Air Force is looking to hugely expand its fleet of unmanned aircraft by 2047.

Three years ago, the service was able to fly just 12 drones at a time; now it can fly more than 50.

At a trade conference outside Washington last week, military contractors presented a future vision in which pilotless drones serve as fighters, bombers and transports, even automatic mini-drones which attack in swarms.

Five thousand robotic vehicles and drones are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. By 2015, the Pentagon's US$230 billion ($339 billion) arms procurement programme Future Combat Systems expects 15 per cent of America's armed forces to be robotic.

A recent study, The Unmanned Aircraft System Flight Plan 2020-2047, predicted a boom in drone funding to US$55 billion by 2020 with the greatest changes coming in the 2040s.

"The capability provided by the unmanned aircraft is game-changing," said General Norton Schwartz, the Air Force chief of staff. "We can have eyes 24/7 on our adversaries."

Currently airborne drones are directed by trained pilots who then return to their assigned aircraft.

This year, the service started training drone operators with no airborne experience.

- OBSERVER

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objecti...

Views: 65

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

Comment by Marklar on August 24, 2009 at 3:10pm

Comment by Mimsgirl on August 24, 2009 at 12:52am
Recently I watched an interview with a drone pilot and the interviewer asked if it was hard to fire on People knowing that probably innocent people would be injured or killed. The pilot was bothered until he finished his shift and went home to his wife, children, and the security of a normal life. Getting up in the morning, eating breakfast, gathering children for school was routine for him... but.. when he entered the control room and became a predator pilot... his whole world changed. It was completely set a-part from his "normal" life and became a duty.... part of the job. Sending the missiles was another part of the job, sometimes regrettable, but necessary. I worry if the orders were to wipe out a nest of American terrorists, you know, the ones who quote the Constitution and respect life, what would happen? It would probably be regrettable but... well.. orders are orders. I hope, if it were to happen, there would be a little regret.
Actually...... if it were to happen... I would hope the American people would storm the cess-pits where the Elite hide from the light of day (so they won't burst into flames) with pitchforks and burning torches to eradicate the vermin responsible. On second thought... why wait??
Comment by TheLasersShadow on August 23, 2009 at 7:55pm
Its 10 times easier for the executioner's ... i mean the pilot's to pull the trigger thousands of miles away from a video game like display than to be overhead in the vehicle itself. The new pilots will be asked eventually to pull the trigger with extreme prejudice on civilians in America. The old pilots flying the planes they know wont follow illegal orders but the new video game trained public school educated drone pilots will pull the trigger with out thought or hesitation.

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega posted a blog post

Following Blindly

When I was born the world seemed so tallPeople didn’t seem so threatening at allFast forward to my…See More
33 minutes ago
Sandy posted videos
4 hours ago
Sandy posted a photo
4 hours ago
Sandy commented on Sandy's video
yesterday
Sandy posted a video
yesterday
cheeki kea posted a photo
Wednesday
Burbia posted a video

Strange Videos That Expose Something Massive

#disturbing #video #strange #scary #scaryvideos #strangevideos This is a compilation of the most disturbing videos on the internet, not only...
Wednesday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Jul 29
Burbia commented on Burbia's video
Jul 29
Burbia posted a video

SUPEROLA & THE LOST BURGERS

This Game is RUBBISH !
Jul 29
pohonemas33 team commented on tjdavis's photo
Thumbnail

DejaVu

"nice very goodjob, i wish you can visit official situs pohonemas33"
Jul 26
Sandy posted a photo
Jul 26
Doc Vega posted a blog post
Jul 25
Saint Quinn favorited Burbia's video
Jul 24
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Jul 24
Burbia commented on tjdavis's blog post The Jewish Couple That Taught Bob Dylan Hebrew and Introduced Him to Zionism
"Haaretz put this story behind a pay wall. Sali Ariel and Terry Noble were the names of the couple…"
Jul 23
William Heckman is now a member of 12160 Social Network
Jul 23
cheeki kea commented on tjdavis's photo
Jul 23
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's video
Thumbnail

This Woman DESTROYED Harley-Davidson's Future Forever

"It's a sad day on the highway. But I guess the show must go on. Watch out for the ruination of…"
Jul 23
cheeki kea posted a video

This Woman DESTROYED Harley-Davidson's Future Forever

This Woman DESTROYED Harley-Davidson's Future ForeverWelcome to Ride Radar – Your Frontline Source for Motorcycle Deals, Trends & Market Mayhem.Looking for t...
Jul 23

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted