UAV Development and Implementation in Iraq and Afghanistan

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"Insatiable" is how the United States Army's demand for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has previously been described.

The advantages of UAVs are clear cut; they provide ISTAR [intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance] capabilities other crafts could not, while saving manpower, and subsequently lives, by keeping troops out of the line of fire.

United States defense secretary Robert Gates is among those behind the continued use of UAVs in Afghanistan and the UK Army has also invested heavily in its capabilities in this area.

Now their use has been firmly established, attention is being turned to how they will evolve. Lt. Col. James Cutting, aviation UAS director in the Army's G-3 office, told Defence News, in the future "the army does not want unmanned systems for unmanned's sake."

"A proposed new system must offer better capability or save manpower," he added.

Use in Iraq and Afghanistan

Last year the British Army's collection of Hermes 450 UAVs reached a major milestone; providing 30,000 hours of support for troops operating in Afghanistan.

The system has wide ranging functions, from reconnaissance missions to long-term pattern of life studies, and delivers ISTAR information, which it collects using electro-optical and infrared sensors to a range of 150km, to ground staff.

"The capability has been absolutely key to many of the TFH [Task Force Helmand] operations. The H450 system is flown from and maintained in Afghanistan. This enables close liaison between flight crews and the end-user that they support," the commander of 42 (Alem Hamza) Battery Royal Artillery said.

The system provides 85 percent of the full-motion video available to the taskforce.

In addition to the larger UAVs such as the Hermes 450, forces in Afghanistan use small hand launched surveillance crafts which can be used by troops on the front line.

The latest Desert Hawk was delivered to British troops in Afghanistan in August, with an updated camera offering clearer images and improved design allowing it to fly better in the local weather conditions.

Staff Sergeant Dan Gardner from 47 Regiment Royal Artillery said: "Desert Hawk provides an eye in the sky that has become indispensable to troops on the ground in Afghanistan.

"The fact that it is hand-launched and lightweight means we get a very quick and thorough appraisal of the tactical situations faced on operations."

The Next Generation

Among the UAVs which have been instrumental in the conflicts in the Gulf is the Reaper. Developed by General Atomics the system uses synthetic aperture radar, real-time video and infra-red sensors to provide ISTAR information to ground troops.

It first took to the air in Afghanistan in 2007, so far flying over 13,000 hours,and the Royal Air Force took delivery of a new craft in summer 2010. The new model also contains Hellfire missiles and laser-guided bombs, which are under the control of ground staff.

Multiple UAVs can be flown over Afghanistan at any one time now, capable of delivering 36 hours of surveillance to British troops on the ground each day.

Defence secretary Dr Liam Fox said: "Reaper continues to play a vital part in our air power capability in Afghanistan and there is no doubt that this cutting-edge technology is saving lives."

The United States Army also recently put in a $148.3 million (£89.2 million) order for 24 MQ-9 Reapers from General Atomics, however there have been warnings that in the future UAVs may require more capabilities than the Reaper posses.

Col. James Gear, the director of the Remotely Piloted Aircraft Task Force, said the next generation Reaper will need to be more "weather tolerant" and must be prepared for new threats, including possible ground to air strikes.

"In tomorrow's conflict, or going even further to the right to an anti-access environment, the MQ-9 and MQ-1 [Predator unmanned aircraft] are not well suited for that. So there is certainly a requirement and need for an aircraft [that] operates in these three different threats," Gear was reported by Defence News as saying.

He also warned about the increasing risk to UAVs from cyber threats.

Contributor:   IDGA Staff

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