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A remote pilot conducts a training mission at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. (US Air Force photo by Emily Kenney) more >
Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilot
The pilots and sensors that fly the U.S. military's drones have occupied much of the Air Force's air combat operations for more than 20 years.
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Since the September 2001 attacks, the requirements for remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) and their two-member crews have increased significantly. The ship's ability to remain in hostile territory for long periods of time means they can provide deep intelligence and round-the-clock surveillance and aim bombs when necessary.
But the intense demands of RPA missions in recent years have led to significant shortages of pilots, officers and sensor personnel, according to an analysis by the Government Accountability Office. The Air Force, the congressman warned, has not done enough to keep supply lines full.
"This approach is inadequate to accommodate the growing number of positions that [Congress] has authorized for this RPA workload," the report found. "For most of fiscal years 2016 through 2019, the number of RPA pilots and sensors was below authorizations and requirements."
One result, the GAO said, is that workers are forced to work long shifts and perform back-to-back tasks without a break. Many overburdened service members left the Air Force for the Air National Guard or for higher paying, less stressful jobs in the private sector.
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"People join the Air Force to see and do things, not to be exposed to frequent combat operations at less than attractive levels," GAO said.
The Air Force MQ-9 Reaper was killed in October 2007 while firing Hellfire missiles at a group of Afghan insurgents attacking US forces. It was another Reaper unit this January that fired multiple missiles at a two-car convoy leaving Baghdad International Airport, killing an Iranian commander, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the commander of a Shiite militia backed by Iran.
Regular combat operations have created challenges for Air Force pilots and sensor operators flying missions around the world. Since at least 2016, the Air Force has had fewer RPA pilots and sensors than authorized, the GAO said in its report: "Unacceptable Air Operations: The Air Force Should Take More Actions to Improve Airline Staffing and Support."
No one doubts that the Air Force's RPA community has a significant manpower shortage, said Paul Scharre, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Defense in Washington. The only question is why.
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"The Air Force had enough time to develop pilots and sensors to keep this nation safe. They chose not to," said Scharre, author of a book on how drones are changing the nature of modern warfare.
The Air Force, he said, does not appreciate the RPA's mission, which focuses on counterterrorism efforts rather than the traditional mission of controlling the skies.
"In the minds of Air Force leadership, it's not a priority," Scharre said. "This problem has been going on for ten years."
The Air Force declined to comment directly on the RPA staffing shortage and referred a reporter for its official response to the GAO investigation to Air Force Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel, Personnel and Services.
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The Air Force has offered financial incentives to address RPA personnel retention, but says it does not have enough historical data to help predict how many personnel will remain and how many will be needed and how many are being replaced, according to the report. The Air Force is "regularly" failing to meet its entry goals for RPA pilots and sensors from fiscal year 2016 through 2019, GAO investigators said.
The Air Force also has trouble retaining a core of pilots and sensor operators, who are being lured away by higher-paying employers.
"There aren't enough [pilots] to meet the demand," Scharre said. He added that the contractor community is "hunting [military] pilots and sensor operators."
As of 2016, the Air Force also experienced a severe shortage of instructor personnel. At one point, Air Force officials temporarily reduced training time to try to close the instructor gap. In response to the GAO report, the Air Force said it requested an updated assessment of the "reasonable" conditions of the pilot and sensor instructor.
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"Although delayed by the COVID-19 response measures, completion and final results (of the study) are estimated to be expected within 12 months," the Air Force said.
The GAO report also recommended tracking the progress of the Air Force's efforts to find sufficient numbers of RPA pilots and sensor operators so that units can have adequate "dwell time" -- the time they spend in non- combat, like training.
Pentagon officials say that as the battlefield "grows," they will have a better handle on manpower requirements and sustainment levels, as drone warfare requirements are only expected to accelerate.
As the United States moves away from the global war on terror to face "superpower" competitors like China and Russia, there is no future in modern warfare without remotely piloted aircraft, Scharre said.
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"Just because we see Russia becoming more aggressive than Europe and China in investing in military modernization, that doesn't mean the threat of terrorism is going away," he said. “The Department of Defense can walk and chew gum at the same time.
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