The DoD has a wide variety of requirements for the selection and training of UAS pilots based on the aircraft flown, mission requirements, and branch of service. Some platforms like the US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper and RQ-4 Global Hawk require rated officers to fly them, while the RQ-11 Raven UAS can be controlled by an enlisted US Army technician with minimal aeronautical training. With this information in mind, answer at least two of the following questions: Why are there different philosophies on crew member selection? Do you agree with the current process of matching the requirements to the size or mission of the UAS to be flown? How do you think the FAA should deal with the same situation when issuing rules about UAS integration into the NAS? Based on the current FAA requirements for UAS pilots, do you think there should be a more uniform standard that applies equally to all UAS, or continue to be tailored to fit specific situations and aircraft?Why are there different philosophies on crew member selection?
The Army has mostly enlisted personnel working as both operators of the aircraft as well as the sensor. Most of the section oversight is conducted by a Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) that is a rated pilot and flew rotary or fixed wing aircraft and are trained in the specific UAS. At the small tactical unit level, such as Infantry Company, the unit is assigned a Raven team that comprises three systems and two operators (US Army, 2006). The Raven is a non-military occupational specialty (MOS) descript position (US Army, 2006). These systems are designed to be man-packable, quickly assembled and easily flown but those that have little to no experience in aviation. On the other hand, larger systems such as the MQ-5 Hunter requires MOS specific training at FT Rucker, Alabama in the many flight principles but does not require the individual to be a commissioned officer nor possess a background in aviation. Other systems, such as the Grey Eagle also require specialized training for flying at higher altitudes as well as specific training on the ground control stations that utilize the auto land and auto takeoff capability.
The Air Force has traditionally utilized commissioned officers with flight time in manned aircraft as operators of unmanned aircraft. Only recently has this rule changed when Secretary of the Air Force James announced that enlisted personnel will be allowed to operate the unarmed RQ-4 Global Hawk (Schogol, 2015). The Chief of Staff of the Air Force stated there were no plans to utilize enlisted pilots on systems such as the MQ-1 and MQ-9 aircraft (Schogol, 2015). I imagine this is because the Global Hawk requires little if any stick and rudder skills compared to that of the Predator and Reaper aircraft.
Based on the current FAA requirements for UAS pilots, do you think there should be a more uniform standard that applies equally to all UAS, or continue to be tailored to fit specific situations and aircraft?
Yes, I feel there should be a requirement for all UAS pilots. I think this should be broken down into classes/weight of UAS. Everyone, regardless of hobby use or commercial use, should be aware of the rules and the regulations as they pertain to airspace. AC-91-57 that was issued in the 1980’s has been cancelled by the FAA (FAA, 2015). This advisory circular basically gave some guidelines which remote control pilots should operate in. With all the discussion about UAS the new rule for UAS and remote controlled aircraft further spells out the definition of aircraft and their right to control such flights in the national airspace. Furthermore, it goes on to explain what a model aircraft is used for (FAA, 2015). The problem is and will continue to be people who abuse the use of sUAS which has happened numerous times. For example, an individual decided to fly their system during a wild fire in Phelan, California in 2015 causing issue with a fire crews and fire aircraft trying to fight the fire (CNN, 2015). This stemmed for a lack of education, among other things, as well as a lack of regulations. Going back to the weight issue. Regulations should be split for systems depending on weight of the system and the role the system plays. Furthermore, pilot certification should occur as well for those who plan to use these systems commercially. If going to operate commercially then the operator should be required to take a written knowledge test every couple of years. With the massive influx of these systems the FAA has a massive task on trying to keep the skies safe with systems that are capable of flying at altitudes and individuals that lack the common sense and knowledge to keep these systems out of the way of other commercial traffic.
References
CNN. (2015). Above spectacular wildfire on freeway rises new scourge: drones. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/18/us/california-freeway-fire/
Department of the Army. (2006). FM 3-04.155: Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations. Retrieved from https://fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fmi3-04-155.pdf
Federal Aviation Administration. (2015). AC-91-57 Cancelled. Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.information/documentid/22425
Schogol, J. (2015). Air Force to have enlisted pilots for the first time since world war II. Retrieved from http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/2015/12/17/air-force-have-enlisted-pilots-first-time-since-world-war-ii/77490376/