Making all pilots officers is pretty done for perks to be able to attract exceptional individuals and compensate them accordingly since most armed forces have pretty strict compensation bands which are based on rank and deployment conditions.<p>Pilot training is long, many air forces train pilots for 3-5 years, and depending on the air force it self may require the candidates to be over a certain age and with a bachelors degree (some air forces integrate the degree with the training plan it self).<p>This means that the prospective pilots would be naturally older and would be less inclined into getting and staying  in their position as they would most likely be supporting a family by the time they get their wings.<p>So making all pilots go through officer training pretty much allows you to naturally set them on a career path with the appropriate compensation.<p>Since operating drones require substantially less training than becoming a pilot you will get younger recruits, if you recruit your drone pilots at 18 then by the time they finish basic and advanced training and are ready to fly a drone they will probably not have turned 19 yet.<p>Training drone pilots is also substantially cheaper when you invest 5 years and several million $ in training some one you will have to go out of your way to make sure that they&#x27;ll stick around.
When it takes maybe 6 months and the cost of a flight sim an a joystick to achieve the same you wouldn&#x27;t care as much if they continue to serve after their initial contract &#x2F; national service period has ended.