In a ceremony held at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada in April, the 1st four graduates of the brand new flying branch created by the RAF for those operating remotely piloted air systems (RPAS) – or, colloquially, drones – officially received their wings. The graduates – two former air-traffic controllers, an RAF policeman and an RAF regiment officer – were participants in an RAF trial programme named Daedalus, whose aim was to evaluate the potential for training personnel with some operational but no previous flying experience to ‘fly’ unmanned aircraft. The brand new pilots will now commence operations with 39 Squadron in Nevada, flying British RPAS over Afghanistan.

Indeed, following the clear success of the Daedalus programme in training non-pilots to fly ‘unmanned’ Reaper aircraft, in December 2012 Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, Chief of the Air Staff, announced that the RAF can be standing up a brand new cadre of RPAS operators it is distinct from the opposite forms of pilot specialisations: combat air; multi-engine fixed wing; and rotary wing. This may allow the RAF to coach and use ab initio pilots – that’s, pilots and not using a prior flying or operational experience – on RPAS. On this way, it’s thought, the RAF can maintain the required throughput of personnel without requiring them first to finish the long – and dear – training required for other kinds of aircraft, saving the pricetag linked to what’s often irrelevant training inside the process.