An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System. Facing a shortage of drone pilots, the US Air Force said it will increase pay for those who operate the robotic planes. Pic: AFP PHOTO/JIM WATSON/FILES Source: AFP
IT’S the well-paid job flying aeroplanes, except the pilots are on the ground.
Facing a shortage of drone pilots, the US Air Force says it will increase pay for those who operate the robotic planes and draw on airmen from the reserves to fill the gap.
DRONES: G-string in the backyard pic just the beginning
The growing demand for drones has stretched the American military’s resources and placed a major strain on the aircraft’s pilots, who work an average of about 14 hours a day, six days a week, Air Force Secretary Deborah James told a news conference on Thursday.
“This is a force that is under significant stress from what is an unrelenting pace of operations,” James said.
Plans to bolster the number of drone pilots come as the US presses ahead with an air war against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, which has involved daily missions for the robotic aircraft.
In this undated handout file photo provided by the U.S. Air Force, a MQ-9 Reaper. Facing a shortage of drone pilots, the US Air Force said it will increase pay for those who operate the robotic planes. Pic AP Photo/Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt, US Air Force. Source: AP
The military had expected the need for drone flights to decline slightly with the withdrawal of most troops from Afghanistan. But the US-led air campaign against IS jihadists launched in August has fuelled yet more requests for the more than 360 unmanned aircraft in the Air Force fleet, officials said.
An internal memo leaked to The Daily Beast last week quoted a top commander warning that drone operations had reached a crisis point because of the manpower shortage.
With a large number of the drone pilots approaching the end of their commitment to the military, commanders are anxious to avoid a brain drain and are looking for ways to persuade them to stay in uniform.
The Air Force secretary unveiled what she called “first steps” designed to relieve the pressure on the pilots.
But additional measures are being drawn up.
Some troops who have been trained as drone pilots but have since moved on to other assignments will be asked to return to the drone mission.
And drone operators who are due to leave for other missions will be ordered to stay on temporarily.
“We’re also looking at pay,” James said.
Drone operators are paid the same rate as conventional pilots, but are not eligible for bonus “incentive” pay offered to persuade airmen to remain in the military as they near the end of their term of service, officials said. AFP sn