When MPs convene today to weigh Britain's role in aerial drone wars throughout the Middle East, they're going to have one particularly glaring shortfall to bicker over. Investigations following a downed British unmanned aerial vehicle over Afghanistan last year reveal a considerable lack in the Royal Air Force's training programs, with pilots of England's drone fleet undergoing seemingly little schooling before being entrusted to carry out missions.They can apparently be up and aerially spying--on the loop, so to speak--after logging as few as 25 flight training hours, according to the Telegraph. And that's without having any past flight experience whatsoever.That's not a whole lot. I almost like to think of it as that feeling when you're an awkward 16, when you've puttered around on side streets logging enough hours of "behind the wheel" time with a learner's permit, and then finally the time comes to take your first solo freeway hellride. You were good enough to get your license, yeah, but you have no idea what you're doing, do you? Or better yet, think of it in these terms: To even be considered for astronaut school candidacy, both NASA and the European Space Agency, of which the U.K. is a part, require 800 hours flight time. Minimum.Drones are for the most part not outer-space ships, of course, at least not yet. (That day is coming. Sit tight.) Nor, if I can hazard the guess (I've only ever flown tiny, backpack-able drones), is flying something like the Hermes 450--the same Israeli-made, mid-size long-endurance spy craft that crashed at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, in 2011--the same as piloting, oh I don't know, something like a Soyuz. But you get what I'm saying. You think there'd at least be a little more classtime before getting the degree and showing up to your first day on the job. Yeah? No?And yet when you consider that the RAF is taking to this sort of drone crash course because the flying service not only wants more drones, but is pushing the drones it already has to their limits, the crunch makes sense. "Increasing demands" on the RAF's UAVs, the investigation states, are "constraining" flight training programs for newer pilots. What's more, a panel with the investigation found holes in the RAF's "selection of drone operators," and also raised concerns over "their training and development, and their poor knowledge of air- traffic control rules." Great.To their credit, the aviation authority is acting like it'll be undergoing some changes in light of the damning investigations. After he read the reports, Tim Anderson, an air marshall with the aviation authority, ordered some 60 changes to the operating procedures of Britain's Hermes fleet, a total of nine aircraft. And the Telegraph is reporting that at today's meeting Shadow Armed Forces Minister Kevin Jones is expected to say something to the effect of:We must clarify the rules, given the significance and spread of the technology. Whether valid or not, there is a public perception that unmanned technology is shrouded in secrecy, which increases the potential for its demonisation. Being open about usage and codifying our policy would help confront this, and would increase accountability and transparency in the system.But for now, everything in a day's time.Top: RAF drone pilots at Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan (via Bureau of Investigative Journalism) Reach Brian at brian@motherboard.tv. @thebanderson
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