The leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee are calling on the Pentagon to standardize training for all remotely piloted aircraft operators following a Government Accountability Office report that found Air Force and Army pilots have trouble finishing their training before operating drones.

Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., on Wednesday sent a letter to Defense Secretary Ash Carter calling for improvements to establish standards in its training program for RPA pilots to alleviate stress in the RPA pilot career fields and to ensure the pilots meet high standards.

"We are disturbed that the Department of Defense has no standardized training program for [unmanned aerial system] pilots and personnel," the senators wrote. "The continued lack of consistent and uniform training standards is simply unacceptable. In addition to collecting critical intelligence, the department's UAS programs carry out sensitive strike missions that should require high standards and specialized training."

The Government Accountability Office on May 14 released a report on pilot training for RPA systems that urged the Pentagon to take corrective actions to improve how operators are trained. The GAO found that Air Force and Army pilots have faced challenges in completing their training.

. Specially, the GAO wrote that the Army "does not know the full extent to which pilots and check wording?mh been trained and are therefore ready to be deployed" because Army unit status reports do not require pilot training information.

The agency also wrote that Air Force records for seven units show found that just 35 percent of the pilots had completed training for all their required missions, the GAO wrote. Pilots in all of the focus groups said they could not finish their training because of a manning shortage requiring them to fly operational missions. These issues were also highlighted in a 2014 GAO report, and the Air Force has not fully implemented any of the recommendations, according to the agency.

The Army, meanwhile, "does not know the full extent to which pilots been trained and are therefore ready to be deployed" because Army unit status reports do not require pilot training information, the GAO wrote.

The Air Force has a shortfall of 400 MQ-1B Predator and MQ-9 Reaper pilots to sustain a service requirement of 1,200 pilots.

"That 'shortfall' may in fact be somewhat misleading as there is a distinct possibility the Air Force requirement may be understated," the senators wrote in their letter. "These pilot shortages have constrained training and place extreme strain on the existing community of pilots and sensor operators."

The senators urge Carter to focus senior leaders on the issue and develop a coherent strategy to ensure the operators are "highly trained and proficient" in their missions.

The Air Force has repeatedly acknowledged this shortfall, and put in place multiple efforts to retain and gain more RPA pilots, including increasing the use of Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve airmen and using more bonuses to keep pilots flying remotely piloted aircraft.

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