Australian pilots drafted to help fly UK drones over Syria and Iraq
Presence of Australian pilots will allow RAF to focus on combat missions
Australian airforce pilots and private contractors are being drafted in to help fly UK armed Reaper drones over Syria and Iraq amid shortages in RAF crew and concern over the stresses of piloting deadly unmanned aircraft.
Their presence allows the RAF to deploy its trained pilots more efficiently on combat missions and helps plug the crew shortages that are deemed to be the greatest risk to the UK’s £1.1bn future drone programme.
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