Lift-off: PLA Ground Force puts pro drone operator hopefuls to the combat test
- The branch of the Chinese military is standardising training and testing for its UAV corps as the devices become core equipment
- Applicants must master theoretical and practical components and respond to real-life conditions
The PLA Daily reported on Thursday that after two years of trials, the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force would introduce a set of drone operator courses this year.
The certification system was meant to foster “faster creation of combat capabilities in new realms and new forms”, an officer with the ground force’s chief of staff department was quoted as saying.
“The subjects closely align with the actual combat scenario. It is not just a simple assessment of flight control operations, but a test of the core professional skills of a drone operator,” he said.
The new certification system marks the ground force’s first move to standardise training and assessment of its drone operators, and has practical and theoretical components.
Applicants must first take a number of online courses and pass a theory exam, and then complete a certain amount of hours of flight practice on drones with their units.
