글로벌호크의 퇴역 시작으로 미군의 부사관 UAV 조종사들이 없어질 예정

[위종민]

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2021/12/07/air-force-previews-plan-to-phase-out-enlisted-drone-pilots/

Air Force previews plan to phase out enlisted drone pilots

미군이 SAM에 대한 취약함 등을 이유로 2022년부터 글로벌호크를 퇴역시킬 예정인 가운데, 글로벌호크의 막대한 비용 소요로 인해 글로벌호크를 통제하던 부사관 UAV 조종사들도 자리를 잃는다고 합니다. 

내년에 글로벌호크 31대 중 24대가 퇴역할 예정이며 이에 따라 현재 75명인 부사관 UAV 조종사들도 보직을 바꿔야 할 것이라고 11월 29일 찰스 "CQ" 브라운 공참총장과 조앤 배스 공군주임원사가 발표했네요. 

UAV 조종사로 남고 싶은 부사관들은 OCS에 입교해 장교로 임관해야 하며, 그 외에는 플라이트 엔지니어나 로드마스터, 재급유 스페셜리스트 등으로 보직을 변경할 수 있다고 합니다. 

2017년 급증하는 글로벌호크 비행소요를 감당하기 위해 부사관 UAV 파일럿들을 뽑았는데, 부사관들을 파일럿으로 뽑은 건 2차대전 이후로 처음이라고 합니다. 2020년까지 100명 채용을 목표로 했지만 25명이 모자랐다고 하네요. 

Air Force previews plan to phase out enlisted drone pilots

 Dec 8, 07:51 AM

Master Sgt. Mike, a 12th Reconnaissance Squadron RQ-4 Global Hawk pilot, and Tech. Sgt. Robert, 12th RS RQ-4 sensor operator, simulate flying operations 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. (Senior Airman Tristan D. Viglianco/Air Force)

Four years into an experiment to let enlisted airmen fly reconnaissance drones, the Air Force is signaling plans to wind down the program.

The proposed change — outlined in a Nov. 29 letter from Chief of Staff Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne Bass — would reroute the careers of about 75 enlisted airmen who fly the RQ-4 Global Hawk, one of the military’s most in-demand platforms.

The Air Force is asking Congress to let it ditch 24 of its 31 Global Hawks in the coming year, a move lawmakers appear likely to approve in the pending defense policy and spending bills.

RELATED

Military officials argue the drones are vulnerable to threats like surface-to-air missiles and could be replaced by spy satellites instead. Downsizing in 2022 would leave just seven RQ-4s in the inventory, drastically shrinking the number of airmen needed to fly them.

Master Sgt. Jarad Denton, a spokesman for Bass, told Air Force Times the memo aims to offer transparency to the remotely piloted aircraft community on the way forward. No decisions have been finalized, he said.

“Enlisted RPA pilots deserve to hear directly from their leaders on the current status of the program so they can make informed decisions regarding future service options,” he said.

Pilots who want to continue operating RPAs and are qualified to commission would be offered a spot in Officer Candidate School. Airmen who aren’t interested in becoming officers can instead pursue career enlisted aviation jobs like flight engineer, aircraft loadmaster or refueling specialist.

“For those airmen either not eligible or desiring of a commission or CEA position, they will be offered an opportunity to return to their previous career field, or retrain to another enlisted [specialty] or developmental special duty assignment,” Brown and Bass wrote.

While the suggestion laid out can work well for airmen who wanted to become an officer anyway or were interested in other enlisted jobs, it may also convince people whose military service contracts are nearly finished not to reenlist.

The service said it is committed to keeping and supporting its current enlisted RPA pilots as well as those picked to join them in the future. Denton said no selection boards are scheduled right now.

Enlisted airmen were brought in to bolster the RQ-4 Global Hawk enterprise in 2017, as commanders around the world pleaded for more overhead surveillance of the areas they defend. It marked the first time since World War II that the Air Force made an exception to its rule that only commissioned officers are allowed to serve as pilots.

USAF aimed to train 100 enlisted RPA pilots by 2020 but remains about 25 people short. Denton did not answer how many RQ-4 pilots the service may need in the next few years as the platform retires.

“You inherited this challenge where the direction of our enlisted RPA pilot program was not set in stone,” the leaders wrote. “No doubt, the uncertainty has been a weight on you and your families.”

In August, Bass told Air Force Times that the service was considering expanding the enlisted drone pilot program — an idea that now appears to be scrapped amid the Air Force’s retirement plans.

Earlier attempts to divest the Global Hawk and other surveillance aircraft have been quashed on Capitol Hill. This year, though, lawmakers haven’t objected to shrinking the RQ-4 force.

While the Senate Appropriations Committee is in favor of taking 24 Global Hawks out of combat as requested, it doesn’t have the boneyard in mind. Instead, lawmakers want the Air Force to repurpose the drones to collect data on hypersonic missile tests.

Some of the less-advanced RQ-4s have already headed to the Pentagon’s test enterprise, prompting senators to suggest the Air Force do the same for newer Block 30 drones.

Senate appropriators have also preemptively proposed protecting a later model, the RQ-4 Block 40, from retirement in their fiscal 2022 legislation.

Lawmakers did not mention Global Hawk retirements in a joint version of the defense policy bill released Tuesday. However, the legislation says Congress wants to hear from regional commanders about how overhauling the Air Force’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance inventory would affect global operations.

[백선호]

31대 중 24대 곧 퇴역... 우리는 너무 늦게 상투를 잡은 것 같네요. -.-;;;

[위종민]

미국이 판을 깨버리니 어찌 방법이 없네요. 미국은 금방 치웠지만 일본은 두고두고 운영했다는 DASH 꼴이 날 것 같습니다.

[백선호]

아참 이거 오래된 Block 20, 30 중에서 24대 퇴역이고 Block 40은 그대로 씁니다.