‘Reapers’ To Begin Flying At Air Shows In 2017

ANN April 1 Special Edition

The U.S. Air Force announced April 1 that it will create a precision demonstration team made up entirely of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

The “Reapers” Precision Demonstration team will begin appearing at air shows in the 2017 season, according to an internal memo dated April 1 from General Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, the head of Air Combat Command.

“The Air Force is relying more and more on unmanned aircraft, and recruiting for airmen to operate those aircraft has been difficult,” Gen. Carlisle said in an telephone interview with ANN. “The Thunderbirds have been a great recruiting tool for Air Force pilots. The next natural step is to show that flying an unmanned aircraft for the Air Force is more than sitting in front of a monitor in a dark room for 12 hours a day. The Reapers will have all the panache of the Thunderbirds, and it will show off the skill required to operate those aircraft flying in precision formations from a remote location. We think this will bring out the millennials who want to get their hands on some real hardware.”

The Reapers will perform an aggressive schedule during the 2017 air show season, with performances already booked across the country. “We know how expensive it is for an air show to bring in a team like the Thunderbirds, and this  will give smaller shows a much less expensive option but still have the thrills of a full-on military aerial demonstration,” Carlisle said. “And because the aircraft have such a long range, getting from show to show will also present a great savings to taxpayers. Add to that the fact that the pilots don’t actually HAVE to travel with the aircraft, but we will have a mockup of the control center set up so that potential drone pilots can try their hand at flying an Air Force UAV.”

The U.S. Navy is said to be watching the formation of the team closely, with a team based on the X-47B potentially in the works.

FMI: www.af.mil