Originally Posted by
KPax
Basrah late 2007/08 Hermes flown into the side of the main terminal in very poor vis, I also saw a picture of a Hermes trying to fly into the side door of aMmerlin that was also airborne. No criticism but am I correct in thinking that the Army UAV's are not flown by pilots.
KPax, the Hermes 450 would have had an 'external pilot' doing the takeoff and landing, and an 'internal pilot' in the ground control station for the rest of the flight. The external pilots would have been experienced R/C pilots, as those are the skills required, and would have been civilian contractors. I don't know about the internal pilots. Watchkeeper is intended to be operated by the Army, although a lot of the development flying has also been by non-military personnel, as would be expected.