Given a sustained period of emergency-level staffing among its drone pilots, the Air Force has decided to reduce the number of drone patrols by five in an effort to let airmen rest.
Drone missions remain at a high priority because of the threat posed by the Islamic State, Defense One reports.
But in this case, the Air Force has realized that it simply cannot push airmen past the breaking point. Until more pilots come on board, full-strength drone deployment to detect ISIS’ hideouts will have to wait.
Starting April 1, the service moved the number of patrols down from 65 to 60. How many simultaneous targets the Air Force can survey is called a Combat Air Patrol and is generally taken as the measure of current capabilities. CAPs have rocketed upward since 2008 when they started at just 33. Owing to pressure from then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the Air Force continued to build capacity until reaching up to 65 as of last May.
The recent decision to reduce the number of CAPs required approval from the Secretary of Defense, which Ash Carter granted. Now with a more realistic schedule, Air Combat Command can focus on plans to estimate how many more pilots are needed to fill demand over the next five to ten years.
While 60 patrols is a much more sustainable number, the change means that some portion of the overarching mission will have to be sacrificed.
“The reality of the wars we’re fighting right now is that 60 is not enough,” Col. James Cluff told Defense One. “The Air Force struggles to produce more than that.”
In January, an internal memo by Gen. Herbert Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, revealed that the problem was longstanding: pilots were about ready to snap from exhaustion and previous makeshift patches no longer appeared to work. (RELATED: Air Force Drone Program On The Verge Of Collapse)
But in an effort to funnel more drone pilots into the program, training has taken a hit. A recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) determined that just 35 percent of drone pilots have completed full training. (RELATED: Vast Majority Of Military Drone Pilots On Crucial Missions Don’t Have Full Training)
The link between training and number of accidents is not clear, but a Washington Post investigation in June 2014 found that from September 2001 to December 2013, the Air Force crashed 418 drones.
Follow Jonah Bennett on Twitter
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.