Gamers to fly drones over Afghanistan

Britain plans to replace its highly trained pilots controlling drones flying surveillance missions over Afghanistan with lower grade staff.

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.

Currently the drones, capable of carrying laser-guided bombs and air-to-ground missiles, are flown by highly trained fighter pilots, who have undergone the GBP 4m fighter pilot program — 8,000 miles away in Nevada, western US.

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.

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“‘We don’t necessarily need highly trained pilots,” the Daily Mail qouted Wing Commander Richard McMahon as saying.

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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’.

The announcement comes as the number of Afghan and Pakistani civilians killed in US and NATO-led airstrikes has increased dramatically in recent years, triggering strong criticism against the presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan.