A little more than one year from its inception, the nascent training program designed to field remotely piloted aircraft operators from the ranks of junior non-pilot officers is progressing well, says Gen. Stephen Lorenz, the Air Force’s top trainer. “At this juncture and time, I am pleased with where we are at,” he told reporters Feb. 19 at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando. He added, “I have not had any glaring negative feedback.” Lorenz said the first two beta classes have graduated, and members of the first are already flying MQ-1 Predators in combat. (See Betas Join the Fight.) One change already being instituted for future classes is the addition of more flight training as part of the initial flight screening that the students receive in Pueblo, Colo. This adjustment resulted from the feedback of instructors, who “wanted more air sense” for the students, he explained.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
