The U.S. Department of Defense is Actively Recruiting Drone Pilots from All Military Branches

Reference News Network, October 13 report According to the U.S. Defense News Weekly website on October 8, the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit is recruiting military personnel with experience in flying first-person view (FPV) drones to participate in the Department of Defense's "Drone Dominance" program.

This $1.1 billion program is an initiative by the Pentagon to rapidly grow the U.S. drone industry by inviting companies to submit small drone systems for selection, then choosing the systems with the best military performance to build a reserve of equipment.

Erin Chery, the test flight lead for the program, told a reporter from the Army Times in an email that the Defense Innovation Unit hopes to recruit about 100 drone pilots for the next phase of the program, called "Severe Test" Phase Three. But the broader goal is to establish a permanent roster of drone operators across the military branches.

Chery said, "There is no limit to the number of people who can register for the roster. We welcome all operational personnel with FPV drone operating experience to apply."

She explained that selected military personnel will have "hands-on opportunities" with some of the latest drones, including models that have not yet been fielded, and some participants will also receive specialized training on one-way attack drones.

Chery stated, "Most importantly, the test flight results from 'Severe Test' will provide critical data for subsequent selections of which drone systems to use, and these operators will be the ones executing the test flights."

The announcement from the Defense Innovation Unit specifically calls for recruiting military personnel with experience flying FPV drones, which are typically flown manually in "stunt" mode for various tasks such as reconnaissance, surveillance, suicide attacks, and close-quarters combat.

However, Chery indicated that the Defense Innovation Unit is looking to recruit not just experienced FPV drone pilots.

She said, "Pilot skills are not just a single capability; flying ability, tactical knowledge, payload experience, and specialized skills such as long-range navigation and urban flying are all different capabilities that we will assess individually."

The diversity of pilot capabilities is important because the drones ultimately selected will not only be used by the most experienced military operators. "A drone that only experts can operate well is not suitable for widespread use in the troops," she said, "Whether applicants have operated FPV drones for 5 years or 5 months, we welcome them." (Translation/ Hu Xue)