Coming soon: a drone for all
theaters By Carl O Schuster
HONOLULU - The last decade has seen a
proliferation of unmanned military vehicles
entering service around the world, especially as
part of America's war on terrorism. Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have become America's most
widely reported and controversial weapons of the
ongoing, multi-country campaign.
In
particular, they have become an ubiquitous
presence in the skies over the Afghan-Pakistan
border and the latter's tribal areas. They are now
America's pre-eminent surveillance program,
supporting every level of its military command
structure from commanding generals and reportedly
even the White House, down to small units on
patrol in city streets or the rural countryside.
Surveillance, however, is not UAVs' only
role. They have replaced
the assassin as the
strike element against senior enemy leaders, and
emerging technologies all but ensure their roles
and employment in present and future conflicts
will expand.
UAVs offer several advantages
over aircraft and satellites. First, the most
capable UAVs can remain over a surveillance area
for days, something crew manning and orbital
mechanics deny respectively airplanes and
satellites. It's like having a surveillance camera
mounted in the sky and in the case of attack
variants, a sniper or weapons master on watch as
well.
Second, they are cheaper than
satellites and can operate below the climate
phenomena that occasionally blind satellites'
views. They are also smaller and more economical
than manned platforms of similar capabilities.
Indeed, given the rapidly advancing technologies
involved, their size can and likely will be
reduced even further. Due to
micro-miniaturization, infantry squads and other
small units now enjoy direct UAV reconnaissance
support.
Today, even the smallest unit can
have eyes on the next block or hill before they
reach it. Their flanks, line of advance and even
their rear can be monitored in real time, warning
the patrol of threats they may encounter. It has
reduced American casualties significantly in the
current conflict in Afghanistan and the future
promises to make them even deadlier tools of
conflict.
The idea of unmanned aircraft is
not new. They were tested during the closing
months of World War I and a limited number were
used in World War II. They saw their first
large-scale employment in the Vietnam War, albeit
in secret without the attendant publicity of
today's "drone" operations. Launched from United
States Air Force (USAF) DC-130s operating out of
South Vietnam and later Thailand, America's
"Firefly" drones flew 3,425 missions over North
Vietnam and along the Sino-Vietnamese border
between 1964-1975.
Used to collect imagery
and signals intelligence from areas too heavily
defended for even SR-71 long-range reconnaissance
aircraft to risk entering, they reportedly found
the Son Tay prison compound, discovered the SA-2
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) guidance signal and
untold dozens of hidden North Vietnamese supply
depots and critical military facilities.
Then, as now, their use was not considered
as politically sensitive as manned reconnaissance
missions. The USAF tested attack versions but the
war ended before they could be introduced into
service. Post-Vietnam War defense cuts ended the
drone program of that era but technological
advancements and the growing variety of security
concerns facing both East and West inspired the
programs that led to the UAVs of today.
UAVs initially were intended to fill the
gap between satellite and manned reconnaissance
systems. Their successful use in Vietnam
highlighted their utility, particularly for
countries that either lacked intelligence
satellites or whose satellites were incapable of
detailed, high-quality imagery.
Israeli
ingenuity The late 1970s saw European
countries and the Soviet Union pursue UAV programs
in the context of the Cold War, but Israel's
Pioneer Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV) provided
the first real time battlefield surveillance
system. Introduced in 1980, and utilized to great
affect over Lebanon in 1982, The Pioneer, with its
flexible variety of reconnaissance "packages,"
comparative low cost and simplicity, is arguably
the father of today's UAVs.
The US Navy
and Marine Corps adopted it as an off-the-shelf
answer to their reconnaissance requirements and
the Pioneer's very public successes in the US's
Desert Storm campaign in Iraq triggered the
development of America's present family of UAVs.
It was the advent of satellite data links
with global reach, compact television cameras, and
the global positioning systems (GPS) that made
UAVs the versatile, effective systems they are
today. The satellite data link solved the "over
the horizon" control problem that plagued early
drones and RPVs, while reducing the TV camera's
size and weight gave the operators a "cockpit"
view and enabled the UAV to provide a real time
picture of the surveillance area.
GPS-equipped UAVs not only enjoyed a
precise and accurate indication of their location
but also had the ability to return home if their
communications systems failed. Pre-GPS UAVs tended
to crash or wander across the sky until they ran
out of fuel. Modern UAVs do not suffer from these
shortcomings.
They received their first
test monitoring the Balkan Wars that followed
Yugoslavia's post-Cold War breakup. The first of
the new generation of UAVs, the RQ-1 Predator,
entered service with the CIA in late 1994 and was
first used to monitor the situation in Kosovo.
The Air Force activated its first UAV unit
since the Vietnam War at Nellis Air Force Base on
July 29, 1995. The resulting 11th Reconnaissance
Squadron deployed to Hungary six months later. The
Predator was followed into production by the
Army's RQ-5 Hunter that same year. It, too, saw
service over Kosovo. The clarity and continuity of
their surveillance over Kosovo proved a boon to US
and NATO leaders and planners.
The joint
CIA-USAF developed RQ-4 Global Hawk entered
production in 2001. Equipped with transcontinental
range and the capacity for a 3-ton payload,
pre-production RQ-4s provided the first
battlefield surveillance images of Afghanistan
following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
RQ-4s' and Predator UAVs' almost
continuous surveillance of the battle area proved
more than a complement to satellite coverage.
UAV-derived imagery, signals and infrared
intelligence gave American commanders superior
knowledge of the battle space they needed to
engage and defeat the Taliban in battles with only
a minimum of ground forces. Indeed, commanders'
only complaint was that there weren't enough of
them.
The USAF resurrected the idea of
"strike drones" towards the end of the 1990s.
Predator program managers had been pursuing a
"hunter-killer" version since early 2000, and the
9/11 attacks gave it an accelerated impetus. They
added AGM-114 Hellfire missiles to the air frame
and enjoyed their first successful test firings in
early 2002.
Its first combat operation
came that November when a joint CIA-USAF team
destroyed the vehicle carrying Qaed Salim Sinan,
then al-Qaeda's chief in Yemen. Over 2,200
terrorist targets have been killed by drone
strikes in the 10 years that followed that strike,
although the RQ-4s high-altitude flight regime has
precluded production of an armed variant.
Instead, most RQ-1 Predators have been
upgraded to the MQ-1 attack variant by the
addition of weapons, hardpoint mountings and laser
designator equipment. These early successes
inspired development of a new range of unmanned
combat air vehicles (UCAVs).
In 2006, the
MQ-9 Reaper became the first of these to enter
production. Larger and more powerful than the
Predator, it has a greater range and carries a
heavier payload. It has become the primary strike
weapon against al-Qaeda and Taliban operations in
Afghanistan, Yemen and reportedly even in Somalia.
Other unmanned combat aerial vehicles are under
development.
The Army-Navy MQ-8 Fire Scout
program has been cancelled but both the US Navy
and Air Force are now considering a range of UCAV
programs. For instance, the US Navy plans to use
the MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS)
unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to conduct the bulk
of its future open ocean intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Cheaper
to produce, operate and maintain than manned
maritime patrol craft, they will replace many but
not all of the P-3/P-8 maritime patrol aircraft
and their electronic intelligence platform
variants over the next 20 years.
The
Navy's X-47B carrier-based UCAV saw its first
takeoff in 2011 and the USAF is examining an
unmanned version of the A-10 to meet the Close Air
Support (CAS) mission. China, France and Russia
also have UCAV variants under development. Britain
and Italy reportedly are pursuing UCAVs as an
alternative to attack aircraft.
War
without men Some defense commentators have
even suggested UCAVs may replace manned
interceptors by mid-century. Given the UCAVs
reliance on data links, and barring the advent of
powerful new artificial intelligence systems, that
seems unlikely at this time since interference
with those crucial links would seriously degrade
UCAVs' performance.
Fueled by the need to
combat Iraq's and Afghanistan's virulent
insurgencies, UAVs are proliferating into tactical
intelligence. The Army introduced the RQ-11 Raven,
history's first "backpack" UAV just before the
US's 2003 invasion of Iraq. Originally developed
for Army special forces, this new class of
mini-UAVs was critical to detecting insurgent
ambushes and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Similarly, US Marines used RQ-14 Dragon
Eye mini-UAVs to support their operations and
complement the surveillance provided by their RQ-2
Pioneers. The USAF has also fielded a mini-UAV,
the silent, electric-engine Wasp III. It has also
been used to complement base perimeter
surveillance as well as supporting USAF special
operations forces. For large area tactical battle
field surveillance, the Army introduced the RQ-7
Raven in 2007.
The joint CIA-USAF
developed the stealthy RQ-170 Sentinel is the
latest reconnaissance UAV to enter service. Known
in military circles as the "Beast of Kandahar"
because of its hosting on that base, defense
commentators believe it entered service in 2005.
Operated by the USAF's 30th Reconnaissance
Squadron, it has flown extensively over
Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and the Persian Gulf.
Although the extent of its operations
cannot be confirmed, one crashed in Iran in
December 2011. The model shown on Iranian
television bears a striking resemblance to
America's B-2 bomber, albeit much smaller in size
and lacking some of the bombers' stealth-related
sharp leading edges and unshielded engine exhaust
ports. Little is known about its capabilities but
it appears to be purely a reconnaissance vehicle.
If history is any guide, attack versions of the
UAV could arise in the years ahead.
The
same can be said for some of the nanotechnology
UAVs currently under development. Some are
reportedly as small as hummingbirds or even horse
flies, and are built to conduct covert
intelligence collection after traditional UAVs
have driven the enemy underground, either into
buildings and tunnels or in dense forests or
jungle. These new micro-UAVs will operate in plain
sight, acquiring their stealth by blending in with
the insect and wildlife common to the enemy's
natural habitat. If the technology is refined,
they will likely be viewed as the ultimate attack
platform, striking down a specific individual
enemy with little risk of politically embarrassing
collateral damage.
As of June 2012, the
United States and Israel enjoy near monopolies in
UAV employment, technology and production. That
said, over 35 other countries have launched their
own UAV programs. Future missions envisioned for
UAVs include anti-submarine warfare (ASW), cargo
transport, ocean surveillance, search and rescue
operations as well as traditional attack and
reconnaissance.
Although the majority of
these programs probably will not reach fruition,
the fact remains that UAVs have become a major
feature of modern warfare and both their numbers
and uses will grow in the years ahead. More
importantly, they are recognized as less
labor-intensive tools of war than traditional
manned systems, offering both reduced personnel
costs at a time when such costs constitute up to
60% of defense budgets and soldier pensions are
paid 20-30 years after retirement.
UAVs
strategic successes of the last 10 years have
given rise to the pursuit of other types of
unmanned military vehicles, ranging from unmanned
ground vehicles for land forces to unmanned naval
vessels for both surface and underwater for naval
forces. Hopefully these developments will not make
military intervention and war seem less onerous to
the political leaders who decide such matters.
Carl O Schuster is a retired
United States Navy Captain based in Honolulu,
Hawaii. The views expressed here are his own.
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