AirPower: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles - Essay Example

AIR POWER (AVIATION) 2005 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), including Unmanned Aerial Combat Vehicles (UACVs), have a great potential for performance of the tasks previously accomplished by manned aircraft. UAVs have been used in air power operations since the 1950s, however, now, their military challenging roles are expanded mainly because of the application of wide variety of payloads, including TV cameras, radars, infrared seekers, electronic signals intelligence equipment, lasers, meteorological sensors, as well as sensors to detect chemical agents and radioactivity. Today's UAVs are playing an increasing role in air power operations due to their ability to sustain during the flight by aerodynamic lift over most of their flight path. Also, their value is seen in the absence of onboard crew responsible for flight guidance because UAVs can fly autonomously. The Air Force views UAVs as an essentially remote-controlled aircraft, but it does not mean that there the aircraft has completely unmanned control. In fact, there is an operator involved in the flight of these systems, but such operator does not need to be inside the aircraft. The operator may remotely control the air vehicle with a stick and rudder control, or program the vehicle and it autonomously decides how to change and adjust its flight. The use of UAVs was predetermined by the necessity of intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance operations in different parts of the world. UAVs are relatively small aircraft but many defense analysts consider such vehicles to be crucial for military affairs. For example, "UAV can find, identify, and even direct a precision munition to a target, and then assess the damage done to that target after the munition has hit, without risking the lives of an aircrew. UAVs are also appealing to the military because different UAV systems can collect different types of information, such as tactical (or battlefield) intelligence and strategic (or longer-range) intelligence. In addition, UAVs may be able to perform such roles as relaying messages during a battle, locating or jamming enemy radar, or monitoring areas during peacekeeping missions" (CBO, http://www.fas.org/man/congress/1998/cbo-uav3.htm). Such impressive results reaffirm the idea of effective use of such vehicles in mission areas for air power needs and warfare. The use of UAVs started from destination of aerial targets, and then the Air Force started to use them for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance needs. UAVs were first used extensively to conduct reconnaissance missions during the Vietnam War. During this war, UAV was a leading edge intelligence gathering tool and the aircraft that saved human lives. The United States began serious development of such vehicles after their essential involvement in the variety of programs, which led to several reconnaissance drones, such as the Firefly and Lightning Bug (CBO, http://www.fas.org/man/congress/1998/cbo-uav3.htm). The first UAVs were difficult to operate and maintain, however, the Air Force used them for a variety of missions, including gathering signals intelligence and collecting high- and low-altitude imagery both during the day and at night. In Vietnam, UAVs were primarily used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. even found that UAVs could become attack aircraft. U.S. forces used remotely controlled UAVs with launching a guided Maverick ground attack missiles at different targets. After the war, UAVs provided surveillance over areas of China, North Vietnam and the Far East that were too dangerous for manned aircraft. During the missions, UAVs' tasks included the supply of tactical information to commanders that satellites could not. After the Vietnam War, the U.S. Department of Defense began to develop a new UAV which would be free from many shortcomings exhibited by UAVs during the war. In 1979, a new UAV, the Aquila, was built. The Aquila included evasive maneuver, night-time target designation and anti-jam data link capabilities. However, with all modernization, this UAV still had some developmental problems, cost overruns and changes in requirements. It experienced both technical problems and significant cost growth. But irrespective of this, the further development of UAV continued. The U.S. Air Force urged to achieve UAVs' effectiveness because of great Israeli military results with such vehicles. Israelis demonstrated their great intelligence value during flights over Syrian air defense sites located in Lebanon. "Their success inspired then Secretary of the Navy John Lehman to push for his service to acquire UAVs, primarily to support targeting by, and conduct battle-damage assessment for, U.S. battleships. His efforts led the Navy and Marine Corps to acquire nine Pioneer UAV systems, which are still in use today. Those systems have been employed in many U.S. operations since the 1980s, including the Gulf War and Bosnia" (CBO, http://www.fas.org/man/congress/1998/cbo-uav3.htm). UAV were very useful during many military operations and in many ways they filled in gaps in the intelligence coverage provided by satellites and manned reconnaissance aircraft. UAVs of this generation proved excellent at providing an immediately responsive intelligence collection capability. The extreme value of UAVs was in attraction of fire from enemy air defenses, and with exposing them to strikes, the U.S. manned aircraft was able to fine the most effective attack routes. UAVs proved to be useful for a range of missions during the Gulf War, and subsequently, the Department of Defense decided to develop deferent kinds of UAVs which would be able o perform different tasks. And as a result, a large UAV family was developed - tactical UAVs for front-line operations, medium-range UAVs for general operations, long-range UAVs to search for distant targets, and low-observable UAVs for searching in well-defended areas. These new UAVs were used in contingency operations in Somalia, Haiti and Bosnia. With inserted sensors for surveillance, they could fly either for long duration at very high altitudes or for shorter periods at low altitudes. Today, UAVs are being used for achievement peaceful agreements. The Air Force is currently using Predator, while three others, Darkstar, Global Hawk, and Outrider, are still in development (CBO, http://www.fas.org/man/congress/1998/cbo-uav3.htm). Predator has been continuously deployed overseas to Europe and Southwest Asia. The uses of Predator during air-to-ground missiles and attacks on observed Al Qaida or Taliban location confirmed the use of UAVs as offensive weapons. The modern UAVs are noted for their technological advancements, miniaturization and communications equipment. They have sensors and carry electro-optical and infrared video cameras. In fact, one can say that modern UAV is Air Forces' real-time observer in the sky, which at any time can provide a valuable video. The analysis of previous UAVs' achievements shows that these vehicles can be used in future warfare. UAVs have proven to be highly effective in certain military roles and for any defense institution such kind of vehicles seems to possess a certain winning potential. For example, the U.S. Air Force considers UAVs to be very useful in inaccessible areas equipped with ballistic and cruise missiles, submarines, mines, and other protective means. Also, the possession of such vehicles looks advantageous for any state during different peacekeeping operations in changed geopolitical environment. The future warfare will be greatly impacted by technological revolution. Today, the winning party is the party which possesses sophisticated forces and weapon systems, and there are no reasons to doubt that the warfare has been already transformed by different technological advancements. Future air power operations cannot be thought without UAVs which can easily carry out long-range precision strike, or close air support and information warfare operations. In the view of this, one can say that UAVs has already demonstrated the revolution of the warfare. UAVs' ability to collect, process, and disseminate information is estimated today as one of successful strategies. "UAVs are likely to be crucial in achieving information superiority, particularly because they can collect information that in the past would have been difficult to acquire without risking the lives of personnel" (CBO, http://www.fas.org/man/congress/1998/cbo-uav3.htm). In future warfare, UAVs will allow wide-area surveillance and continuous coverage at the strategic level, but their most important role is in possibility to replace manned tactical reconnaissance and avoid the risks normally associated with airborne reconnaissance. Future application of UAVs in Asian Pacific region is quite important for U.S. Air Force because quality intelligence will underwrite the state military capabilities. Taking into account the fact that the Asia-Pacific region is the second-largest arms market in the world after the Middle East, the United States cannot simply rely on human intelligence. In case of warfare, the Asian Pacific region can become a serious enemy because of its local militaries and defense systems that could fundamentally change the concept and conduct of warfare. Today, this region has large arms acquisitions and many military arms suppliers are willing to offer their most advanced weapons. The spread of advanced weapons in the region greatly impacts the regional security environment. These concerns should be taken into account during intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance operations. Today's analysis of potential warfare shows that the victory is predetermined by advances in technology. The key issues of such advances are broadening the environmental conditions for wide area surveillance and precision targeting, security, data processing, communications, and etc. In many ways, UAVs can prove their combat worth in the region which is known for its possession of modern weapons and the character of warfare may change in ways that affect intelligence and surveillance. The available information about the spread of advanced conventional weapons in the Asian Pacific region which can have an adverse effect on world's security rises the concerns as to the possible utility of UAVs in that region. Their use will denote strategic intelligence which will include information about another country's military assets, concentration of its forces, weapons of mass destruction, and etc. The utility of these vehicles in future warfare will perform the role of airborne reconnaissance. These vehicles can provide necessary indications and warnings, situational awareness and input to national intelligence. UAVs can obtain information about the activities or resources of an enemy and collect data about particular area. "Unmanned aerial vehicles can perform that mission, although the size of the area they can cover will be different for different types of UAVs. For example, a wide-area search collector, such as Global Hawk, will be able to cover dramatically greater expanses than a small tactical UAV, but both are capable of searching for enemy forces" (CBO, http://www.fas.org/man/congress/1998/cbo-uav2.htm). Improvements in information technologies will inevitably transform military operations. The situation in New Zealand region is one of more truly open competition for military arms. Although it is by far the smallest of the regional arms markets, it is worth to assert that this region will have a certain capacity to be involved in military affairs in future. In this way, the utility of UAVs in future warfare in New Zealand region should go along with accurate and real time information, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems which cannot be though today without the use of UAVs. New Zealand uses joint force doctrine of its friends and allies, and unlike Asian Pacific region, this region has not sophisticated information warfare and communications capabilities which are already in use by their Asian counterparts. In future warfare, in case of coalitions of friends and allies, New Zealand may also represent a dangerous target because the region is dependent on the maintenance of the ties with allies. The beneficial relationships with other allies and bilateral defense relationship with other state may be crucial for future warfare, particularly in the area of logistic support and maritime surveillance. So, in case of strong support of New Zealand's allies, the outcome of the warfare would again depend on which side had the better-equipped forces. The spread of weapons of mass destruction is a dangerous thing for today's world. From the dawn of mankind history, the relations between states were developed by the ever present possibility of violence. So, the defense policy in case of potential warfare should regard the benefits of UAVs' utility. The potential gains from the use of UAVs appear to be attractive because of the possibility to regain the enemy at low cost. The successful uses of UAVs in different parts of the world point out that the U.S. military has embraced the UAV as a sophisticated weapon able to provide valuable intelligence data. It has become increasingly clear that UAVs represent an effective air military tool which can be remotely controlled for all or portions of flight. The significance of UAVs for future developments in aviation is seen in the capability of such vehicles to launch, attack, and recover the target without crew members aboard. Military operations demonstrated that unmanned combat aerial vehicles can offer a perfect option to combat the worldwide proliferation of dangerous weapons and at the same time they can reduce costs per kill. UAVs ability to provide real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance proves their usefulness on the battlefield. In future combat, the Air Force needs to consider the actual capabilities of manned versus unmanned aircraft. Some of UAVs' advantages show that such vehicles hold a great promise because they can provide sustained and nearly instantaneous video and radar images of an area without putting human lives at risk. But at the same time, such promise is undermined by various technical challenges and growth of costs. "The current UAV development programs, however, are technologically ambitious. The Outrider program and the combined Global Hawk/Darkstar program have experienced numerous problems, including delayed schedules, growing costs, and the crash of a Darkstar" (CBO, http://www.fas.org/man/congress/1998/cbo-uav2.htm). However, irrespective of costs and technical issues, UAVs are thought to be essential tools in aerial combat. Their significance for future developments in aviation is seen in different tactical uses, such as visual identification or support of combat air patrols, both domestically and abroad. UAV technology demonstrates a great potential for Air Power. As with most new weapon systems, the new applications of such vehicles will depend on the funding, however, the demonstrated results proves their essential capability in future combats. The use of UAVs for air warfare, however, should not exclude the fact of inherent weaknesses of the vehicles, such as reliance on unmanned vehicles. "The evolution of the hostile surface-to-air and air-to-air threat and their collective effectiveness against manned aircraft and satellites can generate unacceptably high attrition rates. Current systems cannot perform these missions in a timely, responsive manner in an integrated hostile air defense environment without high risk to personnel and costly systems. There is a need for a capability which can be employed in areas where enemy air defenses have not been adequately suppressed, in heavily defended areas, in open ocean environments, and in contaminated environments" (CBO, http://www.fas.org/man/congress/1998/cbo-uav3.htm). But the fact that UAVs could replace humans in warfare will be a real revolution in the history of warfare. UAVs have become a great advancement in military technology and a crucial change of warfare. The current approach of their application demonstrates how technological advancements are conditioned by a nation's values and by its political and strategic context. The future utility of such vehicles in the USA will inevitably involve surveillance, and reconnaissance because of greatly expanded war fighting and mere modernization of armed forces around the world. In this way, UAVs will be a valuable tool to observe the acquisitions of the types of military equipment that, taken together, could fundamentally change the concept and conduct of warfare in future. The main significance of UAVs is that they are able to provide "importance of information superiority, the ability to collect, process, and disseminate an uninterrupted flow of information while exploiting or denying an enemy's ability to do the same. UAVs are likely to be crucial in achieving information superiority, particularly because they can collect information that in the past would have been difficult to acquire without risking the lives of personnel" (CBO, http://www.fas.org/man/congress/1998/cbo-uav3.htm). In case of any potential warfare, air superiority will be predetermined by the use of the vehicles which can be characterized by such functions and successful destruction or suppression of enemy by air forces will depend on the availability of such vehicles. The only one issue for future improvements is the issue of ensuring of effectiveness of manned aircraft. It is important that the future air power will be able to provide the same level of decision making and responsiveness to performed tasks that manned aircraft provide. The future use of UAVs, known as drones, will be largely done for homeland security. The vehicles will be quite important for high-profile missions and will be important surveillance tool for the military to reveal the enemy targets. The latest developments in technology allow now to equip UAVs with cameras and sensors, and in the view of latest terrorist attacks, UAVs could be effective means of watching, reconnaissance, surveillance, targeting, bomb damage assessment in hostile areas. . Works Cited: Options For Enhancing The Department Of Defense's Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Programs. U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Paper. 1998. October 29 2005 Read More