Navy Pilots Learning To Fly Global Hawk UAV
-- ABC News
-- ABC News
BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.
In what could prove to be the first step toward creating a joint RQ-4 Unmanned Aircraft System training unit here, pilots of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron are teaching a class of Navy pilots the Global Hawk system.
The class, consisting of three active-duty P-3 Orion pilots and one civilian contractor, came about as a response to the secretary of defense’s call to maximize the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability in support of the war on terrorism.
Navy officials are looking to the Air Force to assist in expediting their pending RQ-4 Global Hawk deployment, one reason the normally five-month course is being condensed to four.
“This is the initial Navy RQ-4 class, which is on an accelerated course,” said Lt. Col. Scott Coon, 1st RS director of operations. “They are getting top priority. We bumped our regularly scheduled October class back by one month in order to fit the Navy pilots in.”
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My Comment: A sign of the times. The UAV program is on the fast track for major expansion .... expect its final size and impact to be incredible in 5 to 10 years.