Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) |
Drones - Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). The once harmless term has taken on new meaning in recent years largely due to misinformation, Hollywood dramatizations and their growing uses in non-military settings. For the men and women of the remotely piloted aircraft enterprise who provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to combatant commanders around the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, dispelling myths associated with their mission is now a top priority.
- 1. Myth: Drones and RPAs are the same.
- 2. Myth: RPAs fly themselves.
- 3. Myth: Military RPAs are used to spy on U.S. civilians.
- 4. Myth: RPAs strike randomly.
- 5. Myth: RPAs are made from alien technology and are flown from area 51. -
- 6. Myth: RPAs are unmanned and require less manpower to operate.
- 7. Myth: RPA pilots are just “gamers.”
- 8. Myth: Everyone in the RPA community suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
- 9. Myth: RPA aircrews are not compassionate to the missions they perform. -
- 10. Myth: RPAs will replace manned aircraft
RPA’s are not alien, Air Force assures
“Our Airmen are trained to be the best pilots in the world, regardless of aircraft,” the blog post says. “Our fully qualified aircrews consistently exceed expectations for both flight safety and operational effectiveness. Like pilots in manned aircraft RPA pilots are required to meet the same qualifications. New RPA pilots undergo a very intense training program before they fly operational missions.”
The post concludes with Gen. Hawk Carlisle, the leader of Air Combat Command, who says “despite being some of the newest weapon systems in the Air Force inventory, RPAs fulfill critical demands in every theater 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
10. Myth: RPAs will replace manned aircraft
Related/Background:
- Ten Myths About Drones | Ryan Calo
- Myth #1: A model airplane is a drone.
- Myth #2: Drones are no different than street surveillance cameras.
- Myth #3: Drones can only stay in the air for a short amount of time.
- Myth #4: Only the police can use drones.
- Myth #5: Police need a warrant to observe you with a drone flying below 400 feet.
- Myth #6: Police flying a drone to the scene of a crime can only use footage acquired at the crime scene itself.
- Myth #7: The Supreme Court's January 2012 decision in Jones (the warrantless GPS tracking case) means that police need a warrant to follow your car using a drone.
- Myth #8: Most "drones" used by the U.S. military overseas are armed.
- Myth #9: It doesn't take any flying skill to operate a U.S. military "drone."
- Myth #10: The downsides of drones in U.S. airspace outweigh the benefits.
- Unmanned Aerial Vehicles | RAND
- Dispelling Myths About Armed Drones | RAND
- AIA_UAS_Report_small.pdf
- Drone technology myths, facts and future feats - CBS News
- Busting Myths about the FAA and Unmanned Aircraft
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