Unlike most other Defense Department weapons programs, the U.S. drone fleet isn’t burdened by its budget, but by a lack of pilots.
For the last eight years, the number of unmanned surveillance or strike patrols requested by U.S. combatant commanders globally has jumped from about 21 patrols in 2008 to about 60 this year. Each patrol, which provides 24-hour surveillance of a specific location, requires four unmanned aircrafts and a staff of about 500 personnel.
While all of the crew members are feeling the strain, the main breaking point is felt by the pilots, Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Mark Welsh said this week.
That’s because the Air Force has not been able to produce enough new drone pilots to fill all of the global mission demands. Would-be trainers are needed on the battlefield, which limits the number of new drone pilots the Air Force’s training schools can accept. Last year only about 180 pilots were added, though the need was about 300, and the force lost many more to attrition or force rotations.
The resulting strain on the remaining pilots has been tough, Welsh said.
“Our young [drone] pilots…that are just now reaching the end of their six-year commitment this summer…they’ve been working six days on, and two days off since they came in to the job. And those six days are full 12-hour days. Then they have to leave for crew rest at the end of their 12-hour day. But then they drive 45 minutes each way, or an hour each way, depending upon where they live relative to the base.”
“Their first down day is actually catching up on training, catching up on things they’ve got to do with their family. And their second down day is ‘Okay, sleep and get ready for this to start again,'” Welsh said.
During one of the many surge periods over the last eight years, where additional surveillance assets have been needed because of ongoing military operations, the pilots have been moved into a seven-days-on, one-off work schedule.
“And this has never stopped,” Welsh said. “We have to fix this before we break the force.”
In February the Obama administration approved overseas sales of military drones to allies, a move that could ease the strain eventually by having other coalition nations’ pilots pick up more of the load. In the meantime there will be additional demands on U.S. training programs, since the U.S. is the only country that provides unmanned aircraft training for pilots.
Last year the GAO also found that the strange circumstances in which drone pilots fly — most of the staffers supporting the drone are based in the conflict zone, but the pilots themselves are based in the United States and drive home after work — creates complications for the pilots by providing no clear separation between combat and their home lives.
