Unmanned Career Progress: The Air Force leadership approved the creation of an 18X Air Force Specialty Code for officers who operate remotely piloted aircraft during the service’s intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance summit Sept. 29 in the Pentagon. This new, yet-to-be-named career field will be considered “rated,” carry a six-year active duty service commitment, and will qualify for aircrew incentive pay. Future 18X pilots will earn the wings that the Air Force began handing out last month to its first class of graduates who learned to operate MQ-1 Predator RPVs without prior manned flying experience. The leadership wants more time to come up with a name for this career field that better articulates what the new mission area entails. Continue
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.