The U.K. government plans to build its own training center for General Atomics-built unmanned air vehicles as space for allies at the U.S. Air Force’s UAV training school continues to shrink, Flightglobal reported Thursday.
Beth Stevenson writes the Air Force began to ration the slots for foreign partners at the Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico due to the shortage in UAV pilots.
British air force crewmembers currently undergo training provided by CAEÂ at the base to operate the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Block 1 MQ-9 Reapers, according to the report.
Gene Colabatistto, CAE group president for defense and security, said the company is in talks with U.K. on the country’s own training requirements, Stevenson reports.
The U.K. plans to purchase new Reaper-derived Certifiable Predator B UAVs and establish its own training system for the program, Flightglobal reports.