A Remote Possibility: Enlisted RPA Pilots

Master Sgt. Mike, 12th Reconnaissance Squadron RQ-4 Global Hawk pilot, and Tech. Sgt. Robert, 12th RS RQ-4 sensor operator, simulate flying operations in a mission control element Feb. 8, 2019, at Beale Air Force Base, California. In 2017 a group of enlisted pilots became the first enlisted pilots since 1942 to fly operational sorties. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Tristan D. Viglianco)

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A Remote Possibility: Enlisted RPA Pilots

Airmen tow an RQ-4 Global Hawk across the flight line at Grand Forks AFB, ND, in 2020. In addition to flying RPAs, enlisted Airmen analyze collected intelligence and maintain the aircraft.(U.S. Air Force photo)

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A Remote Possibility: Enlisted RPA Pilots

These three enlisted RPA pilots were the first enlisted Airmen to train as pilots since World War II. One of them became a distinguished graduate in their class of twenty students, including seventeen commissioned officers. Their names were withheld by the USAF to protect their privacy. (U.S. Air Force photo)

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Enlisted RPA Pilots

Controlled from a station on the ground, Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) fly without anyone on board. They use high-tech sensors to collect near-real-time intelligence—a valuable asset in both war and peacetime.

Although unmanned, RPAs still require highly trained operators to pilot the aircraft, analyze images, and act on gathered information. Traditionally only available to officers, three enlisted Airmen completed RPA pilot training on May 5, 2017, making them the first enlisted US Air Force pilots in sixty years.

Flying the RQ-4 Global Hawk, their contributions had an immediate impact on USAF intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions which sorely needed more RPA pilots. Training enlisted RPA pilots helped ease the pilot shortage and tapped into the talent of enlisted Airmen.

The success of training enlisted RPA pilots showed that ultimately, ability matters more than rank.

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A Remote Possibility: Enlisted RPA Pilots

A Remote Possibility: Enlisted RPA Pilots

A Remote Possibility: Enlisted RPA Pilots