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Mar 15, 2016

Piecing the puzzle together, RPAs provide crucial combat air patrol capabilities

Posted by in categories: military, neuroscience, robotics/AI

CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFNS) -
Remotely piloted aircraft don’t fly themselves as autonomous super machines. They also don’t require only a single pilot and sensor operator to function.

The RPA enterprise of MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Reapers is maintained or operated by Airmen from more than 30 Air Force career fields, each one playing a key role in supporting every combat air patrol. The patrols enable combatant commanders access to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities at all times.

A combat air patrol is essentially having an aircraft in the air, providing joint combatant commanders with dominant ISR and real-time munitions capability. Today, the RPA enterprise flies a total of 60 CAPs in a 24-hour period requiring thousands of Airmen from pilots and sensor operators to maintainers, intelligence personnel and weather forecasters.

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