From the Air Force Times, bylined by staff writer Michael Hoffman, comes a story headlined "Hundreds of Reaper, Predator pilots needed." The gist of the article is that there is now a new career path in the U.S.A.F. for unmanned aerial vehicle pilots, which is part of a two-pronged approach to fill the Air Force's need for trained UAV pilots. According to the story, the possibility of luring retired and recently separated pilots back into the service to fly UAVs, as well as possibly allowing enlisted personnel to pilot the unmanned aircraft, are under consideration. The other portion of the plan that finds at least 300 pilots needed over the next three years is for candidates to go straight from undergraduate pilot training to their first tour, which is flying a UAV at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. Currently, the U.S.A.F. flies 27 around-the-clock Predator and Reaper orbits in the Central Command area of operation. This involves some 450 pilots. The need is for 50 orbits to be flown by 2012, and that will require 1,100 pilots. To read the entire story, access this direct link.