RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas: The U.S. Air Force boasts more than 130 enlisted career fields and on Aug. 17 one more was officially welcomed as the first class of 10 enlisted unmanned aircraft system sensor operators began their technical school.
Because of their capabilities, unmanned aircraft have become in exceedingly high demand in a very short time, according to the UAS Flight Plan for 2009-2047. Air Force operators are flying 660 percent more missions now than five years ago, and there is no end in sight for demands on these aircraft.
Since Randolph instructors began training Airmen some 70-odd years ago, they have primarily focused on training officer aviators. Now, with the advent of the enlisted sensor operator course, enlisted aviators are welcomed once again.
“Randolph competed against other AETC bases to be able to host this training,” said Lt. Col. Larry Earls, 12th Operations Group Detachment 1 sensor operator lead. “We were ultimately selected, and started setting short, mid and long term goals to eventually reach a fully operational organization by fiscal year 2010.”
Future ground-based aviators mark the inaugural class of 1U0X1 sensor operators in the Basic Sensor Operator course.
“The Basic Sensor Operator Course is a 3-level technical training certification for the newly developed Air Force Specialty Code 1U0X1,” said Col. Jimmy Donohue, Detachment 1 commander. “This training lays the foundation for developing our enlisted force in this new career field, which is critical to meeting the demands of emerging UAS operations.”
He went on to explain that the training includes UA flight characteristics, sensor capabilities and techniques. Additionally, it will provide a basic understanding of full-motion video employment.
Following initial classroom instruction, the course will pair the UA pilot and sensor operator tracks, said Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Bobenrieth, Air Education and Training Command career enlisted aviator functional manager. By doing this, they may start honing their crew coordination and situational awareness skills, which before now, were major challenges for students to overcome as they arrived at their field training units.
It is predicted that future UA pilots will routinely fly multiple aircraft during static portions of a mission. This capability requires each pilot to be engaged for total situational awareness.
“Once they successfully complete the training here, they will be certified as sensor operators,” Colonel Donohue said. “Although certified, they will still require specialized follow-on training before achieving a fully mission capable status.”
UAs offer an alternative to traditionally manned platforms. The integration of manned and unmanned aircraft increases Air Force combat capabilities, adaptability and safety of personnel.
The UAS Flight Plan vision calls for an Air Force that teams with the other military services, allies, academia and industry to capitalize on the unique UA attributes of persistence, connectivity, flexibility, autonomy and efficiency.
(Air Education and Training Command Public Affairs personnel contributed to this article.)
