I call BS on this. I think this is just the AF trying to preserve manned pilot slots, but I will defer to FReepers with more knowledge than me.
Agree 100%. It’s all about maintaining pilot slots.
It's not BS. The C-12 is a tried and true ISR workhorse, and has seen great success in the Army. The airframes are already in the inventory, the pilots are already trained, the maintenance and logistics channels are prepared, it's just a matter of adding a few commercial and government off the shelf components and you've got a competent ISR platform.