The window for enlisted airmen to apply for the chance to become remotely-piloted aircraft pilots is closing in less than two weeks.

Noncommissioned officers and senior NCOs have until Nov. 15 to apply for the chance to fly the unarmed RQ-4 Global Hawk reconnaissance drone, the Air Force Personnel Center said in a release. The application period opened in early June.

Interested airmen must be a staff sergeant-select through a senior master sergeant in any career field to be eligible. They also must have at least six years of retainability from the time they would graduate from the course, or be able to obtain six years of retainability. Applicants also cannot be receiving a critical skills retention bonus.

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The package to apply for RPA training must include an Air Force initial flying class II physical examination and a pilot qualification test, the Air Force said earlier this year.

The selection board for this cycle will meet in January to choose the next RPA candidates, who will train in either fiscal 2018 or fiscal 2019. The last board in February chose 30 enlisted airmen to train in fiscal 2017 and 2018, and another 30 candidates are expected to be selected by the upcoming board in January.

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Master Sgt. Mark Moore, the career enlisted aviator assignments manager for AFPC, said that future selection boards will also be held every January.

AFPC said in the release that the selection board will consider candidates’ entire military personnel record and pilot candidate selection method test score. The last class of enlisted RPA pilot candidates had an average PCSM score of 73, and the scores ranged from 55 to 96.

The release said that airmen with off-duty flying hours can apply that experience toward their PCSM.

The Air Force in December 2015 began allowing enlisted airmen to become RPA pilots in an effort to ease the demand on the RPA community and give enlisted airmen more career opportunities.

Armed RPAs such as the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper are now off-limits to enlisted airmen, but the Air Force has not ruled out opening those platforms to them in the future.

Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.

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