Re: Army culture vs Air Force culture
The Air Force will not buy a drone which does not require a pilot to fly it.
Hardly surprising given that most decision makers in the Airforce are ex-aircrew and are naturally biased toward they own kind
In the Air Force, flying is done by Flying Officers
Of course you may remember that many Battle of Britain pilots were sergeants as were many Lancaster pilots, their performance wasn't any different to the commissioned ones.
emphasis on Officer
You have more confidence in the officer class than I do having worked with the forces rather than in them. I did a technical course once while contracting to the Navy, the first 3 places in the results went to the civilians, then an Able Seaman, followed by a Petty Offices with the 3 Officers bringing up the rear by a long way. That's not to say all Officers are dumb, but there is no reason to assume that they are better at things than the NCOs.
Probably the answer to situations like this is regular simulator training, just like the Airforce and civilian aircrew and drone operators do.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
