U.S. Air Force enlisted personnel will be able to fly the remotely-piloted vehicles commonly known as drones, officials announced today. The idea has been kicked around for many years in one form or another, but seems to have finally made the Air Force change its ways.

This new initiative will be tested within the RQ-4 Global Hawk community, whose pilots really don’t “fly” the aircraft at all: . Still, this is a big step for the USAF which has for decades kept the flying excursively to its officer corps.

Foxtrot Alpha ventured to Edwards AFB late last spring to catch up with the RQ-4 Global Hawk test…

The and is unarmed, but still the USAF says that we should not expect armed drones to remain solely in the hands of officers either. This first step with the Global Hawk will help inform USAF leadership if they should continue to blend enlisted pilots with officers in other remotely piloted aircraft communities..

The Global Hawk has been flying for close to 15 years, and its development has been a twisting road

As part of an emerging cocktail of measures the USAF is taking to fortify and re-energize its fledgling drone operator force, This relatively large incentive just underscores how deep a hole the flying service has dug with its drone operators.

The addition of enlisted personnel to the RPA pilot corps is the right move for the USAF to make, even if it is in a limited form to begin with. As unmanned systems become an increasing integral part of America’s air combat arsenal, such a move may not only be logical but absolutely necessary.

And seeing thatthere is no reason why talented enlisted personnel should not be given the same opportunity.

Contact the author at .

Photos via USAF