Mental strain fighting 3,000 miles from front line SECRET TRAUMA OF BRIT DRONE PILOTS The grim Reaper

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to 415 a year in 2018/19. The cost for PTSD stands at almost £54million.

The Sunday People is campaigning for better treatment for PTSD victims in the armed forces.

The former drone pilot spoke to us on the condition of anonymity and did not supply any operational detail that

could potentially endanger the lives of British troops.

He explained: “Every mission begins with a detailed briefing, which would encompass intelligence, the situation on the ground, weather conditions and all the pre-flight preparation all operational squadrons have to consider. I would then get a mission specific briefing – a ground attack mission or an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission.

“It could be a fresh mission where I’d actually be flying the UAV or one where I took over partway through.

Then it was a case of working with my team of people to try and locate and follow a target, gain intelligence or conduct a strike.”

He added: “Hours, days or even weeks can be spent on surveillance – establishing a pattern of life and building up a detailed intelligence picture of a potential target.

“The days are long and hard and can be mentally exhausting. And although UAV pilots are detached from the real battle, it can still be traumatic, especially if you are conducting after-action surveillance.

“When you are piloting a UAV for hours, you feel part of the battle, even though you are thousands of miles away.

“You are very aware of the consequences of your actions. I know what damage a 500lb bomb can do.

“Once the smoke and dust has cleared, you can see corpses on the ground but not always – and that can be difficult to live with.

“Everything is done to ensure that we only kill the bad guys but the reality is, you can never be 100 per cent sure that innocents are not involved. That often plays on my mind.” While the pilots are based in the UK and US, the drones are stationed either in Cyprus or Iraq and flown via a satellite link.

Operations ended in Afghanistan in 2014 and have been used in Iraq and Syria since 2015 as part of Operation Shader.

RAF drone pilots initially follow the same training as those who fly jets and transport aircraft, which begins with a 24-week course at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire.

Those who are successful then spend six months at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, learning how to operate the aircraft and deploy weapons before they qualify as an RPAS, or Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems pilot. They can then be posted to RAF Waddington, near Lincoln, or Creech US Air Force Base in Nevada.

An RAF spokesman said: “We fully recognise military operations can be stressful so we closely monitor the working hours of RAF Reaper crews to ensure they have time for rest and recuperation. We also offer world-class military healthcare to all personnel to support them with their duties.”