Posted on 11/05/2009 12:07:46 AM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
The U.S. Air Force has a morale problem with its combat pilots. The issue is lack of action for the pilots. That, plus the increased use of unmanned aircraft, and the very real prospect that the age of the manned combat aircraft may be coming to an end. This is made worse with hundreds of fighter pilots being assigned to operating Predator and Reaper UAVs. This was not popular duty, even though the pilots still draw flight pay. It is tedious work, although the UAV operators often saw more combat action than they did when piloting F-16s or F-15s. The air force tried to deal with the morale problem by training non-pilots to be UAV operators, and making UAV operation a career field. Some fighter pilots saw that as an opportunity, and considered switching permanently, rather than just doing three years with UAVs and then going back to manned aircraft. But most pilots would rather fly in an aircraft. A recent air force decision to transfer 100 pilots a year from flight school (where they just graduated) to UAV duty was very unpopular. The air force had asked flight school graduates to volunteer for this, but none did so.
The air force is also considering changing the term UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) to RPV (remotely piloted vehicles), to stress the fact that there was still a pilot involved. But that decision, if carried through, is in danger of being overtaken by events. UAVs are increasingly equipped with flight control software that operates all by itself. Many UAVs already use such software for takeoffs and landings.
(Excerpt) Read more at strategypage.com ...
All involved should have know this was coming, and I find it hard to believe they didn’t...
Just wait till robots are doing everything for us. Then you will see REAL unemployment.
Today’s fighter pilots are like the cavalrymen railing against mechanization. Not that horses are COMPLETELY useless to the military these days (witness the Grey’s Scouts in Rhodesia in the 70’s and Afghanistan today).
The trouble with this... the smarter the aircraft are, the smarter the humans will have to be. Once they figure out what “officer’s club” means, we’ll all be in trouble :D
this is excellent and welcome news.
part of the solution is to award the malcontents
with a bad paper discharge.
they all knew this was coming.
>> The air force is also considering changing the term UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) to RPV (remotely piloted vehicles),
Oh sure, that’ll do the trick.
Gulf War I: I can remember Hackworth, I think, pointing out how the Marine pilots slept in foxholes near their aircraft and maybe even pulled guard duty occasionally. USAF pilots were billeted in suitable hotels and ferried back and to in air-conditioned buses. Hackworth railed against “Perfumed Princes”, in his day.
This is the mindset taught in France. "Why should I work when we have machines to do it." and "Right now, the Germans have most of the machines. Soon they will have all they need and give more of them to us."
yitbos
World Government needs no pilots.
Just wait for UAV airliners.
It works with liberals (witness all the effort they put into changing names from negro to colored to black to afro-American to African-American, and from idiots to mentally retarded to special education). You don't think it'll work with real men?
We never seem to foresee, and prepare for, the events and situations that are real. But we have no problem getting all fired up over things like global warming that are mostly myth. That’s just our nature. Alas, it’s been that way for a long time, and government’s response to situations such as the financial crisis or illegal immigration shows how ingrained it is in our nature.
re: Just wait for UAV airliners
I’ll do my part. As soon as I learn the flight I planned to take is an UAV I will be happy to sit at my computer and be a passenger on it.
The government will license and tax robots.
I wish I could fly an unmanned aircraft.
But i am not going to get sad about it.
Not when there is, cake...
IMHO. The male spirit is being crushed by technology. Why is it that so many young men are feral? Because they have no purpose in life, they know they are simply not needed (a lack of a father in their lives simply reenforces this). They have no outlet for their testosterone, except mindless risk taking, gangs and impregnating as many girls as possible.
It may be deeper in the story, pardon me for not clicking and checking first, but...
In the Army we have junior enlisted "flying" UAVs, not officers like in the Air Force.
I would think that sooner or later the Air Force is going to have to justify having higher paid officers flying these things compared to the Army enlisted.
Just wait till SkyNet becomes operational and takes care of everything for us.
Then we can sit back and relax.
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