Stemming from the high demand for unmanned aircraft and operators, the 1UOX1 Air Force Specialty Code career field for enlisted sensor operators was created to better meet the need for highly-trained enlisted personnel to support UAS operations around the globe. The first group of sensor operators will consist of cross-trainees from other career fields. They are scheduled to begin training at Randolph August 17th. The first group to attend directly from basic training will start September 21st.
Sensor operators control the sensor suite on the MQ-1 Predator and the MQ-9 Reaper ,while also communicating with servicemembers and commanders in the deployed theater of operations and intelligence specialists watching the UA feeds at U.S. bases. The new 3-level certification course, called Basic Sensor Operator Training or BSOT, will be 21 days long and consist of fundamentals, sensors and communication, reference systems, full motion video and operational interface. In response to an Air Force chief of staff directive last year, Randolph officials launched the first UAS course in November 2008. Known as the UAS Fundamentals Course or UFC, by design, it was created to give future UAS operators a foundation of tactical knowledge and weapons employment before heading to Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, for technical training with actual UAs. The enlisted students completing the new BSOT course will immediately join the UAS officer operator candidates in the UFC course to train together and develop crew resource management skills that are essential to the MQ-1/9’s success. Department of Defense officials have identified the need to produce more UAS operators and platforms to support global operations, and since early 2008, the number of Predators in the Air Force supporting combat operations has doubled.
