Pentagon recruits drone pilots from across services for upcoming competition

The Defense Innovation Unit is recruiting service members with first-person-view drone experience to participate in the Defense Department’s Drone Dominance program , according to a recent announcement .

The $1.1 billion program is the Pentagon’s effort to rapidly expand the domestic drone industry by having companies submit small unmanned aircraft systems, or sUASs, for competition and then building stockpiles of the systems that perform best for military use.

Erin Cherry, the program’s test lead, told Military Times in an email that DIU is looking to recruit about 100 pilots for the program’s next phase, known as Gauntlet III. But the larger goal is to create a standing registry of drone operators across the military services.

“There’s no cap on the registry,” Cherry said. “We want to hear from any warfighter with FPV experience.”

She explained that service members selected to participate will get “stick time” with some of the newest drones, including systems that are not yet in military service, and some will receive specialized training on one-way attack drones .

“Most importantly, Gauntlet results strongly inform which systems move forward, and these pilots are the ones flying,” Cherry said.

The DIU announcement specifically calls for troops with experience flying FPV drones, which are typically flown manually in “acro” mode and are used for missions ranging from reconnaissance and surveillance to kamikaze attacks and close-quarters combat.

But Cherry said DIU is looking for more than just experienced FPV pilots.

“‘Pilot skill’ isn’t just one thing,” she said. “Flying ability, tactical knowledge, payload experience, and specialized skills like long-distance navigation and urban flight are all distinct, so we look at each one.”

That variety is important because the drones will ultimately be used by more than just the military’s most experienced operators.

“A drone that only performs well in an expert’s hands isn’t ready for the force,” Cherry said, adding that “whether someone has been flying FPV for five years or five months, we want to hear from them.”

For service members interested in participating, DIU is asking them to complete a Pilot Interest Form . Officials will only respond to applicants using a valid .mil email address, and all pilot participation will be coordinated through the individual military services.

Daniel Terrill is a contributor to Military Times. He’s been reporting on military issues, the gun industry, and the outdoors for nearly two decades. Although writing is his passion, he’s been a Marine, police officer, and, perhaps the most dangerous job of his career, a substitute teacher.

根据最近的一份公告，国防创新部门正在招募具有第一人称视角无人机经验的军人参与国防部的无人机优势计划。

这项耗资 11 亿美元的计划是五角大楼为迅速扩大国内无人机产业而采取的举措，其方法是让各公司提交小型无人机系统（sUAS）进行竞争，然后建立最适合军事用途的系统库存。

该项目测试负责人艾琳·切里在给《军事时报》的电子邮件中表示，国防情报局（DIU）正计划为该项目的下一阶段——“挑战赛III”（Gauntlet III）——招募约100名飞行员。但其更大的目标是建立一个涵盖所有军种的无人机操作员常设登记册。

“登记人数没有上限，”切里说。“我们欢迎任何有FPV经验的作战人员报名。”

她解释说，被选中参加的军人将有机会“亲身操作”一些最新的无人机，包括一些尚未在军队服役的系统，其中一些人还将接受单向攻击无人机的专门训练。

“最重要的是，Gauntlet 测试结果能够有力地指导哪些系统能够继续推进，而这些飞行员​​正是那些正在驾驶飞机的人，”Cherry 说。

DIU 的公告特别要求招募有驾驶 FPV 无人机经验的部队，这些无人机通常以“特技”模式手动飞行，用于执行从侦察和监视到神风特攻和近距离战斗等各种任务。

但切里表示，DIU 需要的不仅仅是经验丰富的 FPV 飞行员。

“‘飞行员技能’并非单一因素，”她说道。“飞行能力、战术知识、有效载荷经验以及远程导航和城市飞行等专业技能都是不同的，所以我们会对每一项都进行考察。”

这种多样性很重要，因为无人机最终将不仅仅被军方最有经验的操作人员使用。

“一款无人机如果只能在专家手中表现出色，那就还不适合部队使用，”切里说，“无论有人玩FPV飞行有五年还是五个月，我们都想听听他们的意见。”

对于有兴趣参与的现役军人，国防情报部门（DIU）要求他们填写一份“飞行员意向表”。官方只会回复使用有效.mil邮箱地址的申请人，所有飞行员参与事宜将由各军种自行协调。

丹尼尔·特里尔是《军事时报》的撰稿人。近二十年来，他一直报道军事问题、枪支行业和户外运动。虽然写作是他的挚爱，但他曾是一名海军陆战队员、一名警察，还做过一份或许是他职业生涯中最危险的工作——代课老师。