The future of pilots in the US Air Force

I have just graduated high school, and plan on joining the Air Force. I plan on attending USAFA next year. Being a pilot in the military has long been a goal of mine. However, I am worried about pilots being zoned out to drones. What is the likelihood that pilots will be completely phased out in favour of drones in the next 10-15 years?
>inb4 "dont fight for Israel"

0, go get em goy

air force enlisted here

dont do it

live your life before the military sucks whats left out of you

I am an AF aircrew member, who transitioned to intel to be a Sensor Operator.

There will always be manned aircraft, but there will be a watershed moment where there will be less manned platforms than unmanned. Not today, not tomorrow, but by 2050.

>just graduated this year
Then why aren't you starting now? What are you doing for the next year?

Also OP, if you wash out at UPT, don't become a different rated officer like an AWACS weapons controller, just go do something that doesn't involve flying. My suggestion is you go from Academy straight to AFISRA.

There will always be a need for air to air combat with pilots
Drones are only good for AtG, not AtA

Although I would agree with you regarding the situational awareness aspect. I do have to say that not having a pilot that G-Locks during intense Air to Air combat is a huge cross section on the Air Force's radar right now.

With latency being cut down now with split ops to milliaseconds, the flying community has been approaching this for years now. The automated A-10 is a good model for UAV CAS as well.

OP. You need to be the very tip of the spear to become a pilot.
If you aren't already in amazing physical condition with perfect eyesight and health just don't even bother.

2008 USAFA Grad here
First of all, unless your already enrolled in the prep school (primarily for mustangs and Col's kids) having already graduated HS without already securing an admission means you probably aren't getting in.

Second there's no guarantee you'll get a pilot slot, especially since you're probably not hot shit since you haven't even secured your admission right out of HS. Though even if you were hot shit that doesn't mean anything at the Academy that just makes you average.

Third you're on Sup Forums which means you're probably as racist as I am, except I wasn't racist when I was a cadet, I was libertarian, and even that was enough for my SJW commander to fuck my career. Since I graduated without commissioning thanks to my lawyer USAFA has only increased the rainbow dildo quotas. Seriously if you want to fly go Embry-Riddle, I got my masters there, I like them and hate USAFA with every fiber in my being.

It will still be a while before pilots are a thing of the past even as UAVs grow, me I'm an engineer working for General Atomics cheering on that growth.

You will be a pilot if you work hard, but honestly flying an F16 is objectively very unlikely. Most fighter Jet slots go to the naval academy, and is actually only a small portion of what the Air Force does.

If you want to be a pilot, you are 95% going to end up flying a helo or an airbus. The biggest thing the USAFA does is logistics.

I have secured admission, I should have voiced that better.
In any case, I appreciate the advice, I think I am not autistic enough to not be able to control my feelings on race.

As EMPs become more prominent in warfare mechanical transports, piloted by actual humans, are going to take over fly-by-wire systems.

The US is already having problems with hostile drones in the middle east, you cant claim 'air superiority' unless you actually control airspace (and thats going to be done with EMPs)

I am going to ship out for Basic Cadet Training next summer. I was in an accident, and had a minor back injury.

You should be more concerned about F-18s losing cabin pressure and the resulting aviation decompression sickness.

I am interested in refueling.

And F-16s.

Burn your admission.
>hey it's the military they're right wing
Wrong, they're tools who serve the status quo and the status quo is to drink deep from pozzed asshole of diversity and fight tooth and nail for seconds. If they notice you're not fighting as hard for your seconds you're marked. If you were able to get into USAFA you can go Embry-Riddle, do that instead and you'll get more actual flight time than any cadet. You can go ROTC or you can go OTS. The ring is cool but it's not that big a deal unless you're doing something at the Academy itself.
Seriously, this is the advice I would have given to myself 13 years ago and fuck you for making me feel old.

Are you fucking retarded?
F-15
F-16
F-22
A-10
100% Air Force Pilots
Navy has F-18s, they never touch the above mentioned planes and for producing astronauts the Air Force and Navy are neck and neck.

Just go navy m8.
>did NROTC, full ride scholarship
>got aviation
>got to chill in Pensacola for API
>chilling in corpus christi for primary
>life is great

Best decision I ever made

>posts on Sup Forums
>gets a big chicken dinner

M8 what? I literally just commissioned. I still have another 4 years or so and a DUI before I'm at risk of a bad conduct discharge.

fly dem planes nigga

>t. security forces
must be fun guarding a nuke kek

some black kid from my school joined the Air Force right out of HS, nicest kid Ive ever met didnt expect him to join lol. Anyways, he just signed up and they stuck him in security forces. Relatively Easy, but all they do is Guard the base, it sucks. If you want to be in the Air Force to be a pilot you need to Earn a Bachelors Degree, meet officer qualifications, then attend officer training school, then after pass flight training, then complete undergraduate flight training, and then have a complete and utter dedication to the US Air force. Its insane, Its not like when My grandpa was in the army air corps and just had to go through basic training and some other requirements. Its a process that takes upwards of 6 Years. But if thats your dream, go for it, its nothing but rewarding.

T. College student going to Marine Corp OCS.

It doesn't take 6 years. Take a about 1 year to start flying, and you'll have your wings after 2.

This.

you need a college degree, which is 4 years. get your wings in 2. 2+4=6, lol

Ahh, gotcha. I'm about to start primary, got ~ a year left.

Also, if anyone is interested, NFOs can get there wings in a little over a year, vs 2 years for pilots.

>F-16
>100% Air Force pilots

Forgot about TOPGUN.

What aircrew job did you have and did you enjoy it?

OP, those drones require tiny pilots, and are usually driven by dwarves. How else do they fit those fuckers in that tiny dome at the front?

The new and future height requirement in the USAF is less than 3 foot tall.

Nice man! Marine Aviation or just Navy? I went to pensacola once to see my buddy who was in VT-4 and was pissed cause you only flight simulations lo.

Navy. And yeah, simulations are a big part of it.

>thinking you'll get to fight
>thinking anyone will care about you when you get out
Boy, you best be deadset on doing a full 20 or you're fucked. I joined in 2011 and was probably the last man on earth who joined because of 9/11. I've been either unemployed or severely underemployed since I've gotten out(they wouldn't let me fight)

I hope you're not joining because you want to return a favor to some assholes because the military no longer has interest in people who want to fight. Now if you like dick or fit an EEO quota...

0, not before you get shot down by the chinks over the taiwan strait

USN does not fly falcons

I'm telling you, they'll all be hiring only dwarves when their entire fleets switch to drones.

>you'll never be an f4u crosair hotshot pilot spreading freedom into jap buttocks.
>you'll never be an p51 pilot showing Hanz how it's done.
Feels bad mang

Actually they do, for simulations

Keep on dreaming. UAVs are flown by pilots. And you are a long ways off (at least 6 years) from touching the stick. Plenty of fags on Chan that will let u touch their sticks though.

You're a fucking faggot for wanting to go to USAFA to fly. Go to USNA. They have more slots open to aviators and a better culture built around their aviation anyways. If you want to kill shit, fly F-18's off of carriers.

Naval Aviation is not going to replace its fighter pilots or many pilots at all in the time you'd serve.

Don't stress drones too much, but seriously, stay away from USAF. As a service, it's a waning organization.

Fucker, I wish I secured a USAFA spot out of high school. I'm stuck in AFROTC and have to compete for the far more competitive rated slot program through that.

If you don't graduate bottom of your class, you can probably get a slot. You will almost certainly be able to complete your 8 years without anything significant happening to manned aircraft.