RAF May Replace Pilots with Gamers for Combat Drone Sorties
RAF May Replace Pilots with Gamers for Combat Drone Sorties
March 4, 2009
Last month GamePolitics reported that one of the U.S. Army's top combat drone pilots in Iraq was a 19-year-old who learned his control skills playing Xbox.
Now comes word that Britain's Royal Air Force may employ gamers to control its combat drones in Afghanistan.
PressTV reports that the RAF hopes to save money by replacing pilots with less-skilled personnel:
The Royal Air Force (RAF) announced Saturday that pilots without full combat training will replace top guns in controlling unmanned Reaper planes in 'frontline missions' in Afghanistan as part of a plan to reduce costs...
Although a small mistake by the remote-controlled pilot can be lethal for civilians or friendly forces nearby, RAF chiefs, believe that 'lower grade' pilots with 30 hours' basic flying training can fly sensitive missions over Afghanistan...
It appears that RAF chiefs have based their claim on studies suggesting that the best drone crews are often young 'video-game players' rather than 'experienced fighter pilots'.
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Posted 03/19/10 at 06:42pm
Valdearg: Sage advice, Zip. Sage advice.
Valdearg: Sage advice, Zip. Sage advice.
Posted 03/19/10 at 06:37pm
ZippyDSMlee: Don;t talk to MS/LIve users that you do not know....is jsut easier that way...
ZippyDSMlee: Don;t talk to MS/LIve users that you do not know....is jsut easier that way...
Posted 03/19/10 at 06:14pm
Flamespeak: Didm't steal anything or other people not knowing what the heck Tribes was but felt inclined to tell me it wasn't Halo.
Flamespeak: Didm't steal anything or other people not knowing what the heck Tribes was but felt inclined to tell me it wasn't Halo.
Posted 03/19/10 at 06:13pm
Flamespeak: stealing 'new' game ideas from Tribes while marketing them as something 'new and shiny'." I was blasted by people claiming Halo
Flamespeak: stealing 'new' game ideas from Tribes while marketing them as something 'new and shiny'." I was blasted by people claiming Halo
Posted 03/19/10 at 06:12pm
Flamespeak: I told some Halo fans that 'with the inclusion of jet packs in Reach, Halo has successfully completed its mission of totally
Flamespeak: I told some Halo fans that 'with the inclusion of jet packs in Reach, Halo has successfully completed its mission of totally
Posted 03/19/10 at 05:39pm
Valdearg: @JDKJ: Well, it's not like you were very subtle, there..
Valdearg: @JDKJ: Well, it's not like you were very subtle, there..
Posted 03/19/10 at 05:18pm
JDKJ: @Val": You got me there. That one was pure troll. And posted in memory of DarkSaber, who hasn't been around much, lately.
JDKJ: @Val": You got me there. That one was pure troll. And posted in memory of DarkSaber, who hasn't been around much, lately.
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:36pm
Andrew Eisen: JDKJ - Probably the widow/widower.
Andrew Eisen: JDKJ - Probably the widow/widower.
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:33pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:who gives a shit about you :P
ZippyDSMlee: JD:who gives a shit about you :P
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:33pm
Valdearg: Lol.. Wow, JDKJ. Troll much?
Valdearg: Lol.. Wow, JDKJ. Troll much?
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:27pm
JDKJ: Who gives a rat's ass about the children of fallen soldiers?
JDKJ: Who gives a rat's ass about the children of fallen soldiers?
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:16pm
Andrew Eisen: I completely agree.
Andrew Eisen: I completely agree.
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:15pm
Valdearg: If they really wanted to help the troops, they should donate their money to a legitimate charity with a good cash in/out ratio.
Valdearg: If they really wanted to help the troops, they should donate their money to a legitimate charity with a good cash in/out ratio.
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:14pm
Valdearg: It's just offensive that people who attend these things think they are helping the troops, when in reality, Hannity is using MOST of the money to live large in the cities he travels to. He could at least scale down his accommodations..
Valdearg: It's just offensive that people who attend these things think they are helping the troops, when in reality, Hannity is using MOST of the money to live large in the cities he travels to. He could at least scale down his accommodations..
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:13pm
Andrew Eisen: Val - But they did get something and that's better than nothing. Also, the Freedom Concert site is clear that expenses are subtracted from the donated amount so while it’s not fraud (from what little I’ve seen) it is pretty crummy.
Andrew Eisen: Val - But they did get something and that's better than nothing. Also, the Freedom Concert site is clear that expenses are subtracted from the donated amount so while it’s not fraud (from what little I’ve seen) it is pretty crummy.
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:12pm
ZippyDSMlee: fou fundrasier, from a fou consertive, who would have thought :P.
ZippyDSMlee: fou fundrasier, from a fou consertive, who would have thought :P.
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:11pm
Valdearg: The problem, Zip, is that barely ANY of the proceeds are going to the children. It's all going so hannity can line his own pockets and enjoy a life of luxury. He is a grade A Piece of Human Crap.
Valdearg: The problem, Zip, is that barely ANY of the proceeds are going to the children. It's all going so hannity can line his own pockets and enjoy a life of luxury. He is a grade A Piece of Human Crap.
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:09pm
ZippyDSMlee: Hanaity cn afford to pay for it himself so all proceeds go to the childernz or whatever. .....
ZippyDSMlee: Hanaity cn afford to pay for it himself so all proceeds go to the childernz or whatever. .....
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:09pm
ZippyDSMlee: But anyway you want to pad your rep with a funrasier get 80% to the people its suppose to go to....
ZippyDSMlee: But anyway you want to pad your rep with a funrasier get 80% to the people its suppose to go to....
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:03pm
ZippyDSMlee: VLag:thats ture but alot of cop and fireman and other thigns are under 10% to what they give to what they are raising money for
ZippyDSMlee: VLag:thats ture but alot of cop and fireman and other thigns are under 10% to what they give to what they are raising money for
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Comments
Can't lie, good idea... I could be willing to do that depending on the missions.
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My brother took a flying aptitude test at age 19 as well, passed with flying colors. They offered him a scholarship, etc.
I think I just found my calling in life....
Check out my blog - http://serveratcapacity.blogspot.com
Now I have an excuse to buy that $200 joystick and throttle control. I could tell my wife it's for national security.
Is anyone else reminded of the movie Toys?
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
http://www.theeca.com/chapters_oklahoma
I wouldn't kill people, not real people, the whole fun of games for me is the fact that it's safe.
If someone joins the RAF and has a history of gaming and wants to do this, then that's fine by me, as long as they don't start hunting around the general population for volunteers. Otherwhise, as EZK says, it starts to get eerily like the film Toys.
Joy, soon we'll be hearing from certain people that they were right about the military and video games all along.
BTW, being a gamer won't automatically make you want to plow the drone into a school or release it's payload on a hospital.
But don't you get more points that way?
Ender's Game.
I love that book.
Colour me different but I don't like the RAF amiditing lower grade soilders to send to Afghanistan.
Crimson Skies.
Something about unmanned killing machines seems inherently unfair to me, even in war. Relative to a specific battle, the side with unmanned vehicles is risking only money but is still destroying human lives. It's the smart thing to do, of course, but it doesn't feel right.
Well, just wait until all wars are fought with robots only. Then no lives are threatened.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
http://www.theeca.com/chapters_oklahoma
Unless military targets such as weapons factories, government buildings and contested territories are themselves populated and operated exclusively by robots, there will always be human casualties.
The wars of the future will not be fought on the battlefield or at sea. They will be fought in space, or possibly on top of a very tall mountain. In either case, most of the actual fighting will be done by small robots. And as you go forth today remember always your duty is clear: To build and maintain those robots. Thank you.
-- Military school Commandant's graduation address, "The Secret War of
Lisa Simpson"
岩「…Where do masochists go when they die?」
In the words of Tom Clancy: "Wars are ugly, their not supposed to be fair."
War Games
"Volume helps to get a point across but sharp teeth are better."
Damn you, "Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots"! Can't we all just get along?
岩「…Where do masochists go when they die?」
As long as I'm on the side with the robots, I'm fine with it.
Not really, this is a bad idea. At the very least we have conspiracy theories that games really do desensitize people to actual violence and killing in a permanent way. But it'll likely end up that the military starts releasing games that DO this, and recruits top players from those games.
It'd be like a recruiting post at a paintball or laser tag stadium. Video games are getting more immersive, and let's face it, with that immersion and better graphics comes more intense violence. It's the difference between flight of the valkyries played in a chiptune on an NES, and in 7.1 with a subwoofer the size of a small horse.
Drones have been used for years. It's only now that Drones and Gamers are mixing.