Rapid City Army Air Base was constructed in 1942 and used as a training location for B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber aircrews throughout the duration of World War II. After the war, the newly renamed Rapid City Air Force Base (AFB) led the nation's strategic bombardment force, deploying B-29 Superfortresses to Britain during the Berlin Blockade and later flying the B-36 Peacemaker heavy bomber. In 1953, Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed the base for Brig. Gen. Richard E. Ellsworth, who was killed during a mission over Burgoyne's Cove, Newfoundland. From 1960 to 1994, Ellsworth AFB was a Strategic Air Command superbase containing two legs of the American Strategic Nuclear Triad--heavy bomber aircraft (B-52 Stratofortresses and B-1B Lancers) and land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (Titan and Minuteman). Today, the personnel at Ellsworth AFB continue to build upon the storied legacy of the South Dakota base, projecting American airpower around the world.

Highlights the human components of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, their interactions with the technology and each other, and the implications of human capabilities and limitations for the larger system Considers human factors issues associated with RPAS, but within the context of a very large system of people, other vehicles, policy, safety concerns, and varying applications Chapters have been contributed by world class experts in HSI and those with operational RPAS experience Considers unintended consequences associated with taking a more myopic view of this system Examines implications for practice, policy, and research Considers both civil and military aspects of RPAS