Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh will make a decision in November on whether enlisted airmen should fly unmanned aircraft.
However, in a virtual town hall held in May, he hinted that he is leaning toward allowing them to. What's more, Welsh opened the door to considering enlisted pilots in manned aircraft as well, according to a report in Air Force Times.
"It's time to look at how we use this talent pool in a different way," Welsh said. "And one of the ways we could use it is not just in the [remotely piloted aircraft] force. RPA would just be the first piece, we have to look at the pilot force in general."
Trained UAV pilots are leaving the Air Force faster than replacements can be trained. Allowing enlisted airmen to become pilots is one possible solution. Currently, enlisted airmen serve as sensor operators for unmanned systems, but all the pilots are commissioned officers.
Read the full report at AirForceTimes.com.
