Modern Drone/UAV Operation Skill

[Christopher R. Rice]

Just what the title says. What set of skills or skills would be used for piloting a Modern Drone/UAV. Would it be different for the small (like the Wasp)? The very large (like a Global Hawk or Sentinel)? What about building them? A subset of Engineer (Electronics) should work I think. Repair skills?

Any information or help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Ghostdancer

[Ulzgoroth]

Building them should be Engineer (aeronautic) or whatever is closest to that. The computer control systems aren't all that special (in the context of TL8 aircraft), but a drone is an airplane.

I'd probably go with Electronics Operation for drones that take directions and target instructions from a controller but fly themselves. Some form of Piloting for a remote aircraft that you actually control directly like an RC plane.

[Phantasm]

Piloting a UAV by remote (rather than an autopilot program run by the on-board computer) sounds a lot like a Technique rather than a Piloting skill of its own, I think. Not sure about the details, but my gut tells it it's an Average technique with a penalty of -3 or -4; I wouldn't buy it up above the base skill.

The autopilot programs would use the standard Pilot skill, based on whether the UAV would be a Light Airplane, Heavy Airplane, Helicopter, High-Performance Airplane, or Vertol (lots of TL9 cyberpunk drone UAVs are heli or vertol), all depending on how a living pilot would fly it.


Building and repairing a UAV would be a specialty (or more than one specialty) of Mechanic, I think; Engineer is designing them.

[nick012000]

Speaking as an apprentice aircraft maintenance engineer, aircraft maintenance is split into three trade streams (at least here in Australia): structural, mechanical, and avionics. Structural covers the repair of the aircraft's physical body; they're the guys who patch the holes and cracks in the aircraft's skin, and make sure the wings don't fall off. Mechanical guys deal with the mechanical systems: things like engines, hydraulics, and pneumatics. Avionics guys are the guys who deal with the electrical parts of the plane: ignition systems, electrical actuators, and the flight controls and displays in the cockpit.

And yeah, there's a lot of different skills involved. I tried statting myself up a bit back, and, let's see, for an avionics engineer: Computer Operation and Research (to look things up in the Aircraft Maintenance Manual), Electrician, one or two points in Electronics Operation (Communications and Sensors, because you need to know how to use them to test them after you've fixed them), Electronics Repair (Communications and Sensors), Hazardous Materials (Chemical, because there's so many in aviation it's not funny), Law (Aviation Legislation), a point in Mechanic (Light/Heavy Aircraft, since you need to know how the mechanisms work to understand how the electrical systems interface with them), one point in Navigation (Air, since you need to know how to use the instruments to test them), one point in Piloting (since you need to know how to use the flight controls to test them), a point each in Mathematics (Applied) and Physics to give you the theoretical grounding for everything else.

Mechanical guys would likely have the skills above that don't deal with the avionics or electrical systems, along with points in Mechanic (Light/Heavy/High Performance Aircraft), Mechanic (Jet Turbine Engine), Mechanic (Gasoline Engine), and maybe Mechanic (Helicopters). Structural guys would probably have Machinist or Smith (Aluminum) or something, I dunno. What would the skill for making things out of composites be? Smith (Composites)?

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

Just what the title says. What set of skills or skills would be used for piloting a Modern Drone/UAV.

According to Basic 214, it's just Pilot skill, of a type appropriate to the drone (most winged drones would be Ultralight; technically something like a quadcopter is helicopter, but in terms of performance it's probably closer to a vertol), though you probably can't benefit from 3d Spacial Sense or Perfect Balance.

[PTTG]

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

Piloting a UAV by remote (rather than an autopilot program run by the on-board computer) sounds a lot like a Technique rather than a Piloting skill of its own, I think. Not sure about the details, but my gut tells it it's an Average technique with a penalty of -3 or -4; I wouldn't buy it up above the base skill.

The autopilot programs would use the standard Pilot skill, based on whether the UAV would be a Light Airplane, Heavy Airplane, Helicopter, High-Performance Airplane, or Vertol (lots of TL9 cyberpunk drone UAVs are heli or vertol), all depending on how a living pilot would fly it.


Building and repairing a UAV would be a specialty (or more than one specialty) of Mechanic, I think; Engineer is designing them.

I could easily see someone who knows how to pilot a drone better than they can fly live. Other than that, agreed.

[theothersarah]

Originally Posted by PTTG

I could easily see someone who knows how to pilot a drone better than they can fly live. Other than that, agreed.

Yeah that situation is pretty much what familiarities are made for.

As for a full skillset, I would expect a drone operator to have Forward Observer, Electronics Operation (Sensors) and (Comms), Navigation (Air), and Artillery (Guided Missiles) if the UAV is armed. I'm not sure if Observation is valid for use from a vehicle at a distance, but if it is they would have that skill as well.

Someone at some point in the chain of command would probably have Intelligence Analysis, but probably not the operator themselves.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

Just what the title says. What set of skills or skills would be used for piloting a Modern Drone/UAV.

If the drone has an onboard computer responsible for keeping it in the air, then I'd call it an Operation skill - I'd use Machine Operation (drone) but the RAW lack that skill, so Electronics Operation (drone). Alternately if it becomes an ordinary tool, then it would use the skill that covers the job it is a routine tool *for*. I can completely believe Forward Observer/TL9 covers operating several models of drones.

If you are responsible for the control inputs that keep it in the air and not just clicking a destination, then it's Pilot (light airplane), arguably with a Skill Adaptation perk to extend it to drones (or regular airplanes if you learned the skill on drones), and with the possibility of a technique for flying a specific model.

What about building them? A subset of Engineer (Electronics) should work I think. Repair skills?

Designing a drone is Engineer (vehicle type). Building and maintaining one is Mechanic (vehicle type). Admittedly the RAW vehicle types are different breadths for the two skills, I'd probably call them as Engineer (Airplane) and Mechanic (UAV) myself.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Thanks everyone! We've pretty much decided that either a required specialty for Piloting or a Technique is probably the way to go. Again, thanks everyone. I really appreciate it. :-)

[nick012000]

Originally Posted by malloyd

Designing a drone is Engineer (vehicle type). Building and maintaining one is Mechanic (vehicle type). Admittedly the RAW vehicle types are different breadths for the two skills, I'd probably call them as Engineer (Airplane) and Mechanic (UAV) myself.

Oh, believe me when I say there's a lot more to to repairing planes than just the Mechanic skill. You know, given that that's what I'm going to be doing for a living IRL.