Page 5 - Nellis AFB Bullseye 10-16-15

BULLSEYE
www.aerotechnews.com/nellisafb
Busted: Top 10 RPA myths debunked
By Tech. Sgt. Nadine Barclay
432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing
Public Affairs
CREECH AIR FOCE BASE, Nev. —
Drones. The once harmless term has
taken on new meaning in recent years
largely due to miseducation, Hollywood
dramatizations, and their growing uses
in non-military settings.
For the men and women of the re-
motely piloted aircraft enterprise who
QJMPUT represent a continuation of this trend
provide intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance support to combatant
commanders around the world 24/7, 365
days a year, dispelling myths associated
with their mission is now a top priority.
1. Myth: Drones and RPAs are the
same.
Fact: In today’s mainstream media,
drone often refers to both small aerial-
capable vehicles with photo or video
capabilities and, incorrectly, to U.S. Air RPAs are not unmanned and do not
Force RPAs. In the U.S. Air Force inven-
tory a remotely piloted aircraft requires
aircrews to operate but don’t have the
capability to carry crews on board. Also
in the U.S. Air Force inventory, RPAs
such as the Global Hawk are used to pro-
vide ISR data by recording imagery and
are often incorrectly labeled as drones.
2. Myth: RPAs fly themselves.
Fact: RPAs are flown by a pilot, with
the assistance of a sensor operator for
the entire duration of the flight. Addi-
tionally, for every RPA combat air patrol
there are nearly 200 people supporting
the mission in various capacities. This
includes pilot, sensor operator, mission
intelligence personnel; aircraft and
communications maintainers; launch
and recovery element personnel; and
intelligence personnel conducting pro-
duction, exploitation and dissemination
operations.
3. Myth: Military RPAs are used to
spy on U.S. civilians.
Fact: The Air Force only flies RPAs in
the United States for training purposes.
The only exception is with the appropri-
ate level of coordination and approval
RPAs can be used to support the aerial
imagery needs of civil authorities in rare
and urgent cases where local, state or
federal officials cannot use non-military
means of support. This level approval
usually resides with the Secretary of
Defense.
Additionally, the following guide-
line’s structure how training f lights
work:
t5SBJOJOHJTOPSNBMMZDPOEVDUFEJO
airspace over and near federal installa-
tions and unpopulated training ranges
that have been set aside for that purpose.
t*OGPSNBUJPOHBUIFSFEEVSJOHUSBJO-
ing missions that is relayed to ground
stations is seldom retained after training
operations.
Creech News 5October 16, 2015
Facebook.com/NellisBullseye
U.S. Air Force photo illustration by Tech. Sgt. Nadine Barclay dergraduate pilot training in manned
aircraft as well.
Myth: Drones and RPAs are the same. Fact: In today’s mainstream media drones
often refers to both small aerial capable vehicles with photo or video capabilities 8. Myth: Everyone in the RPA com-
and, incorrectly, to U.S. Air Force RPAs. In the U.S. Air Force inventory a remotely munity suffers from Post-Traumatic
piloted aircraft requires aircrews to operate but don’t have the capability to carry Stress Disorder.
crews on board. Also in the USAF inventory, RPAs such as the Global Hawk are used to
provide ISR data by recording imagery and are often incorrectly labeled as “drones.” Fact: According to a 2014 paper from
the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace
t "OZ JOGPSNBUJPO SFUBJOFE BGUFS better ways to f ly. We will continue Medicine, studies have shown that 4.3
training missions is deleted shortly to improve our methods of training, percent of Air Force RPA operators re-
afterwards in accordance with regula- conducting operations and employing port symptoms of post-traumatic stress
tions (typically no more than 90 days). new weapon systems. The development disorder. This is lower than the 4 to 18
and integration of unmanned aircraft percent of PTSD reported among those
t %VSJOH USBJOJOH NJTTJPOT
returning from the battlefield and
and sensor operators are not applying and has been around since the early lower than the projected lifetime risk
or receiving the analytical support 1900s. of PTSD for Americans (8.7 percent,
necessary to allow them to use imagery American Psychiatric Association,
to identify individuals beyond gender RPAs are based and flown at various 2013). In addition, Creech AFB estab-
and approximate age. installations across the United States. lished a Human Performance Team in
There are additional Air Force, Air 2011 comprised of an operational psy-
4. Myth: RPAs strike randomly. Force Reserve, and Air National Guard chologist, an operational and aerospace
Fact: The vast majority of the time, installations that are part of the distrib- physiologist, three flight surgeons, and
the Air Force’s RPA fleet is used for ISR, uted ground stations that support RPA two Religious Support Teams to aid
not for strike activity. They are gov- flights and data analysis. Airmen in dealing with stressors.
erned by the same procedures as other
aircraft capable of employing weapons. 6. Myth: RPAs are unmanned and 9. Myth: RPA aircrews are not
require less manpower to operate. compassionate to the missions they
act autonomously to drop a weapon perform.
or choose a target. Human beings are Fact: In order to support ISR mis-
an integral part of the system and sions around the world, every RPA Fact: Airmen per forming R PA
will continue to be the decision mak- CAP requires the dedication of nearly operations receive moral, ethical, psy-
ers. RPA pilots are not bound by a set 200 Airmen in various capacities to chological and physiological training
timeline to strike a target; they spend maintain 24/7, 365 day vigilance. The to build readiness that is sustainable
days, weeks and sometimes months pilot, with the help of the sensor opera- over time. The Air Force will continue
observing the patterns-of-life of a tor, fly the RPA for the entire duration to support combatant commanders
subject and provide that information of the mission. with RPA missions while also focus-
to the network of tactical personnel, ing on initiatives that reduce stress
intelligence members, databases and 7. Myth: RPA pilots are just “gam- on personnel and remain committed
decision makers before any action is ers.” to providing the best care possible for
pursued. They are connected to a huge every Airman, regardless of the career
network of intelligence from multiple Fact: Our Airmen are trained to be field with which they are associated.
sources including platforms, sensors, the best pilots in the world, regardless
people and databases to national deci- of aircraft. Our fully-qualified aircrews 10. My th: R PAs w i l l replace
sion makers, combatant commanders, consistently exceed expectations for manned aircraft
and tactical-level personnel. both flight safety and operational
5. Myth: RPAs are made from alien effectiveness. Like pilots in manned Fact: According to Air Force Chief
technology and are flown from Area aircraft, RPA pilots are required to of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, “the
51. meet the same qualifications. New RPA Air Force needs a number of plat-
Fact: The U.S. Air Force actually pilots undergo a very intense training forms.” He continued by saying this
has a long history of unmanned flight program before they fly operational includes manned and unmanned
and we are still learning new and missions. This training curriculum assets to accomplish sustainable air
lasts approximately one year, and supremacy. “Air superiority is a mis-
many current Air Force RPA pilots and sion. It’s not a platform, it’s a mission.
trainers have already completed un- So ideally, you’d have both tools avail-
able to you.”
Despite the misconceptions sur-
rounding the RPA enterprise, Air
Force leadership remains optimistic
on the future capabilities RPAs can
provide.
“What our RPA professionals are
doing in today’s fight and in pre-
paring for future conflicts is simply
incredible. RPAs and their operators
are in the highest demand from our
combatant commanders because of
the situational awareness and strike
capabilities that they enable. Despite
being some of the newest weapon sys-
tems in the Air Force inventory, RPAs
fulfill critical demands in every the-
ater 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,”
said Gen. Hawk Carlisle, commander
of Air Combat Command.