Operate MQ-9 Reaper and other remotely piloted aircraft in combat and intelligence missions. Conduct surveillance and strike operations.
Officer - College Degree Required
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.
Remotely piloted aircraft pilots fly real missions from a ground control station, often supporting troops thousands of miles away. Shifts run around the clock, and an aircraft may be handed off mid mission to a crew on the other side of the world. You work beside a sensor operator and intelligence analysts, watching an area for hours and building a picture of what is happening below. The work includes reconnaissance, surveillance, and armed missions, and the consequences of what you see and do are entirely real. Between sorties you handle squadron duties, mission planning, and the currency training that keeps your qualifications valid.
You learn to operate an aircraft through instruments and datalink, managing launch, recovery, and emergencies without the physical cues of sitting aboard. Sensor employment, target identification, and the legal rules governing the use of force become central competencies. Crew coordination teaches you to run a small team and communicate clearly with ground units over radio and chat. A commission requires a four year degree and completion of an academy, ROTC, or officer training school program. You also build a working knowledge of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance planning that follows the mission from request to product.
The job builds sustained attention, since most of it is watching carefully and noticing when something small changes. You learn emotional steadiness, because the split between combat work and driving home an hour later is genuinely difficult. Shift work teaches you to manage sleep, health, and mood deliberately rather than by luck. Working under close legal scrutiny builds precision in how you describe what you observed and why you acted. Many crews develop an ethical seriousness about their work that stays with them long afterward.
The commercial unmanned aircraft industry keeps growing, and operating experience supports survey, inspection, agriculture, public safety, and film production work. Defense contractors hire former crews as instructors, simulator staff, and operations analysts for unmanned programs. The sensor and targeting background also transfers into imagery analysis and security operations center roles. Some pilots move on to manned aviation, while others use the officer record and clearance for program management or federal service. The shift schedule is hard on family life, and that cost is worth weighing honestly before you sign.
Related career-field video—not specific to Air Force 11UX.
No suitable exact-MOS video was verified in the recorded search. This does not establish that none exists.
Related field: aviation — special missions aircrew perspective. Source occupation: Air Force 1A1X3.
Airman 1st Class Owen Anderson, 550th Helicopter Squadron special missions aviator, speaks about his experience in the 1A1X3 career field Feb. 27, 2024, at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. The 550 HS’s special missions aviators are responsible for a wide range of duties, including pre-flight inspections, cargo loading and placement and in-flight operations. These Airmen play a vital role in ensuring mission success by managing all aircraft functions and providing defense when required. (U.S. Air Force video by Senior Airman Mary Bowers)
Official publisher description and direct video page checked; playback not independently watched. Checked 2026-10-24. This assignment may not reflect every posting in this career.
$77,814–$144,392
2026 basic pay only; the same grade and service time pay the same across jobs. Promotions are assumed, not promised. Excludes allowances, bonuses and special pays.
Possibilities for serving Airmen, including those in support roles—not guaranteed admission or awards. Individual eligibility, assignment, selection, available training or competition places and successful qualification apply.
Earned through qualifying rifle or pistol competition performance—not routine weapons qualification or time in service.
A cross-specialty competition opportunity, including support Airmen. Entry depends on the particular authorized match and its eligibility rules; earning a badge requires the qualifying result and official award. Confirm entry, prior-award restrictions and uniform wear with the match organizer and current Air Force guidance.
Sources reviewed . Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.
For Air Force 11UX Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilot, official service-wide guidance and any exact feeder-list matches are distinguished below from unverified specialty-specific requirements. Ranks are not separate jobs, and these possibilities are not guaranteed promotions or available contracts.
Examples of higher service ranks
These are service-wide rank names, not a verified promotion ladder for this specialty. Examples are not exhaustive; appointments sharing a pay grade are not additional promotion steps.
Official military rank referenceThe Air Force's 16 May 2022 Enlisted Force Structure describes junior enlisted Airmen, NCOs, and senior NCOs, with increasing technical and leadership responsibilities. It is an enlisted development reference, not evidence of this AFSC's maximum rank, a commissioning route, or current specialty-specific selection requirements.
Air Force Enlisted Force Structure (16 May 2022)Service-level application reference—not a verified next step for this listing
The Air Force restored warrant careers. The reviewed FY26 announcement names 17W communications/IT and 17Y cyber specialties and accepts qualified applicants from any AFSC, as well as qualified civilians and prior-service applicants. It describes a closed 2025 Regular Air Force board; Guard/Reserve use separate memoranda. Current application windows, individual eligibility, and higher warrant-grade progression remain unverified.
Air Force FY26 warrant selection announcement (historical cycle)Specialty-specific advancement, senior assignments, and eligibility for a different personnel category have not been verified for this listing. No feeder eligibility or automatic transition to another specialty is implied.
Advancement depends on current service rules, performance, required education, qualifications, selection, and authorized positions—not simply years served. Confirm current requirements with an official recruiter or career counselor.
Related military jobs below are for exploration, not promised progression or confirmed transfer paths.
Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. This is a partial evidence review, not verification of every advancement route for this specialty. Source retrieval dates do not replace policy effective dates.
Career-field mappings, not automatic qualifications. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024 national medians). O*NET links explain each occupation; military experience does not guarantee a job or salary.
Operate MQ-9 Reaper and other remotely piloted aircraft in combat and intelligence missions. Conduct surveillance and strike operations.
Remotely piloted aircraft pilots fly real missions from a ground control station, often supporting troops thousands of miles away. Shifts run around the clock, and an aircraft may be handed off mid mission to a crew on the other side of the world. You work beside a sensor operator and intelligence analysts, watching an area for hours and building a picture of what is happening below. The work includes reconnaissance, surveillance, and armed missions, and the consequences of what you see and do are entirely real. Between sorties you handle squadron duties, mission planning, and the currency training that keeps your qualifications valid.
You learn to operate an aircraft through instruments and datalink, managing launch, recovery, and emergencies without the physical cues of sitting aboard. Sensor employment, target identification, and the legal rules governing the use of force become central competencies. Crew coordination teaches you to run a small team and communicate clearly with ground units over radio and chat. A commission requires a four year degree and completion of an academy, ROTC, or officer training school program. You also build a working knowledge of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance planning that follows the mission from request to product.
The commercial unmanned aircraft industry keeps growing, and operating experience supports survey, inspection, agriculture, public safety, and film production work. Defense contractors hire former crews as instructors, simulator staff, and operations analysts for unmanned programs. The sensor and targeting background also transfers into imagery analysis and security operations center roles. Some pilots move on to manned aviation, while others use the officer record and clearance for program management or federal service. The shift schedule is hard on family life, and that cost is worth weighing honestly before you sign.
Officer - College Degree Required. This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.
A civilian can pursue this specialty through an officer accession path, subject to eligibility and assignment. Confirm the current status of this specific classification with an official recruiter.
Catalog sources consulted: 2026-09-26. This is not an entry-by-entry verification date. No record-specific verification date is recorded. Occupation audit evidence reviewed: 2026-09-26; this does not re-verify every requirement.
Official branch occupation evidence
Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.
Official occupation evidence · reviewed 2026-09-26
Confirmed. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.
No dated public inventory confirmed a currently open recruiting contract for this role. This does not mean there are no openings. Confirm current eligibility and offers with an official recruiter.
Advertised — Air Force, as of 2026-09-28Deployment likelihood: Moderate*
* Estimated. Rank progression and specialty-pay eligibility are illustrative assumptions. Deployment likelihood, when shown, is inferred from similar specialties in the branch and career field, not a published specialty deployment rate.
Descriptions may change. No military role is free from risk of injury or death, including non-combat work. Catalog review dates do not establish current openings or re-verification of every requirement.
Recruiting signals reflect what each branch published on the dates shown. They are not offers, and they do not mean a contract is open for you. Eligibility depends on your ASVAB scores, medical qualification, security clearance eligibility, and ship date. Confirm everything with an official recruiter. See our Disclaimer and Terms.