RAAF trains aircrew on US Air Force MQ-9 UAS
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has started training aircrew and support staff on US Air Force (USAF) MQ-9 Reaper UAS operations in the US, the Australian Department of Defence announced on 23 February.
The training programme is being undertaken to help the Australian Defence Force understand complex UAS operations and the application of this capability for the protection of Australian troops in future.
Darren Chester, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, said: 'UAS are an advancing technology with a proven record of providing 'eyes in the sky' in the Middle East region. It would be remiss of Australia not to continue to develop our knowledge of this technology to ensure we are able to gain the greatest benefit from UAS and the best protection for our troops on future operations.
'For this reason, the RAAF is training personnel in USAF MQ-9 Reaper UAS operations in the US.’
At present, the air force has a communication systems engineer undergoing training at Creech air force base, Nevada. It also has five personnel training to be MQ-9 payload operators and air vehicle operators at Holloman air force base, New Mexico.
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