Normalizing Rpa Operations

"The United States Air Force Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) community developed under a state of constant combat-surge operations and is rapidly approaching 65 sustained RPA combat air patrols (CAPs). As a result of this combat focus, the community has not experienced normalized garrison operations. As the requirements in United States Central Command's (USCENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR) begin to lessen, other Geographic Combatant Commanders (GCCs) are requesting additional RPAs. This transitional phase provides an opportunity to normalize RPA operations. The Air Force should take advantage of this shift in global operations to establish a normalized steady state operational framework for the RPA community. To accomplish this, the USAF must ensure consistent strategic emphasis on RPA steady state sustainability and readiness, counter poor international and domestic public perceptions of RPAs, provide operational priority to dedicated training, and establish a method for centralized global management that maximizes RPAs' inherent economies of scale. These steps are necessary to facilitate full spectrum readiness for all geographic combatant commands."--Abstract.