drone operators
Unmanned aircraft controllers
Drone operators are people who pilot unmanned aircraft, either remotely or through programmed flight paths.
The term covers hobbyists flying camera drones, commercial pilots doing aerial photography or surveying, and military personnel controlling armed drones for surveillance or strikes: Drone operators conducted the airstrike from a base thousands of miles away.
The role has raised ethical questions about remote warfare and civilian casualties.
- pilotOne who steers aircraft
- ground controlEarth-based flight management
- UAVCrewless aircraft
- remoteDistant or controller
- controllerDevice directing a system
surveillance · military · airspace · joystick · first person view · camera · buzzing · mission · target · air strike · screen · live feed · real time · footage · quadcopter · flight · aerial · flight path
- military personnelsoldiers, soldier, midshipmen, officers, troops
- militarysoldiers, army, troops, officers, navy
- Elite Unitsspecial forces, commandos, Navy SEALs, Delta Force, Green Berets
- Mercenariesmercenaries, mercenary, hired guns, hired gun, soldiers of fortune
- military unitsarmy, battalion, squad, brigade, company
- Support Unitssupport units, medical corps, quartermaster, quartermasters, medics
drone operatorsfighter pilots
Combat aircraft operators
aircrew · helicopter pilots · aviators · test pilots · ground troops
drone, operator, drones, droning, droned, operators, operate, operates, operated