Quelles sont les aptitudes cruciales pour les postes d’opérateurs de systèmes de drones « Harfang » ?

Résumé Fr En

L’armée de l’air française est dotée de systèmes de drones de surveillance contrôlés par des équipages au sol. Un équipage est constitué d’un Pilote A Distance en charge du contrôle du vecteur et de la caméra. Il est secondé par un Opérateur Images en charge de l’analyse des données recueillies. L’ensemble de la mission est géré par le Coordinateur Tactique en charge de communiquer avec les quartiers généraux. Une connaissance précise des compétences mises en œuvre à chaque poste est indispensable pour réfléchir à la mise en place d’une procédure efficace de sélection des candidats. La présente étude a analysé les profils optimaux de chaque poste en termes d’aptitudes cruciales sollicitées au plus haut niveau pour développer les compétences nécessaires à ces postes. Les Pilotes A distances présentent un profil complexe sollicitant des aptitudes variées mais majoritairement issues de la sphère perceptivo-cognitive. Le profil optimal des Coordinateurs Tactiques se caractérise par des niveaux élevés d’aptitudes dans les sphères inter- et intra-personnelles autant que dans la sphère perceptivo-cognitive. Quant aux Opérateurs Images, leur profil optimal est très spécialisé et centré sur la sphère perceptivo-cognitive. Les résultats sont interprétés en rapport avec la littérature scientifique quant à l’évolution des situations de travail ainsi que des caractéristiques de la procédure de sélection.

The current study focuses on the profiles required to become Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) operators in the French Air Force. The Harfang system is operated by three different specialists located into a Ground Control Station. The Pilot Operator controls for the aircraft and sensors, the Imagery Analyst analyses the full motion video in real time and the Tactical Coordinator manages both team and missions. This system is in charge of missions relative to Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) collection. In order to anticipate the development of a specific RPAS operators’ career field in the French Air Force, a standardized selection is needed to propose the most appropriate applicants to the training. This selection requires to identify the best predictors for success. We ran two job analyses. The first analysis, directed to the work station, led to describe activities for each of the three specialists. The second analysis, directed to the individual himself, led to collect the level of complexity for required cognitive, psychomotor and interactive-social abilities related to the previously identified activities. Interviews were used to perform the job analysis focused on the work situation, and an adapted version of F-JAS (Fleishman - Job Analysis Survey) was developed to assess levels of abilities required for activities. The whole population of Harfang operators (N = 30) was solicited for the study. Results showed the optimal profile for each specialist in terms of highest assessed abilities for cognitive, psychomotor and interactive-social domain. Thus, the profile of Pilot Operators is focused on cognitive abilities and especially on attentional abilities. The profile of Tactical Coordinators is balanced between cognitive and interactive-social abilities whereas the profile of Imagery Analysts is highly specialized in cognitive abilities. Results are discussed according to the literature. The methodology used in the current study consisted in an adaptation of the F-JAS. The association of abilities to the operators’ activities offers the possibility to update or to add some new activities like the armed capability. Another strength of this methodology is the possibility to be applied on other job’s in aeronautics. By example, fighter pilots (e.g. Rafale) and airlift pilots (e.g. A400M) could be the next studied populations. In fact, training of RPAS operators as well as training of pilots have to be adaptive to keep connected with both the RPA systems in constant technical evolution and the new generations of aircraft (e.g. glass-cockpit generation).