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| Predator UAV and Hellfire Missile |
Information is the key to the conflicts of the future. Unmanned air vehicles or UAVs will provide a large part of that information while flying long-duration surveillance missions. But will be Air Force of the future have no pilots? Since the very first use of airplanes in military, planners have looked for ways to make aircraft more effective and more lethal. Once so secret their very existence was denied by the government, unmanned air combat vehicles or UAVs are now poised to take the preeminent role in 21st century air combat.
Future of UAVs
UAVs are certain to change air power in the 21st Century and it's starting to happen today. We are just beginning to see the first models on the field. Better unmanned air vehicles allow the military to do more with less and put more aircraft into the air with fewer pilots. The UAV is better served for missions that would be too risky for pilots. In the future, aircraft that have no pilots on-board will carry out the most dangerous combat missions. Today, UAVs are already taking over the role of long-duration surveillance. Losing a UAV in combat is less detrimental than losing a pilot.
UAVs are certain to change air power in the 21st Century and it's starting to happen today. We are just beginning to see the first models on the field. Better unmanned air vehicles allow the military to do more with less and put more aircraft into the air with fewer pilots. The UAV is better served for missions that would be too risky for pilots. In the future, aircraft that have no pilots on-board will carry out the most dangerous combat missions. Today, UAVs are already taking over the role of long-duration surveillance. Losing a UAV in combat is less detrimental than losing a pilot.
Predator
One of the earliest UAVs was the Predator. Developed in the early 1990s, the prototype has been a long and enduring system that can really persist over the battlefield. In Afghanistan, Predators provided critical real-time intelligence and it was there that a Predator made an amazing transformation from surveillance to armed aerial attack craft. When the Predator destroyed a vehicle in an Al Qaeda convoy with a hellfire missile it crossed the line from unmanned air vehicle into an unmanned combat air vehicle.
One of the earliest UAVs was the Predator. Developed in the early 1990s, the prototype has been a long and enduring system that can really persist over the battlefield. In Afghanistan, Predators provided critical real-time intelligence and it was there that a Predator made an amazing transformation from surveillance to armed aerial attack craft. When the Predator destroyed a vehicle in an Al Qaeda convoy with a hellfire missile it crossed the line from unmanned air vehicle into an unmanned combat air vehicle.
Armed UAVs
Today, the new predator B can carry up to 10 hellfire missiles. Of course its primary mission is still what the military refers to as (ISR) or information surveillance and reconnaissance. The Predator serves as a satellite in that it can dwell an area. UAVs transmit important visual information to battlefield command via satellite or other data links. Once targets have been identified, and catalogued they can be disseminated through other weapons systems.
Today, the new predator B can carry up to 10 hellfire missiles. Of course its primary mission is still what the military refers to as (ISR) or information surveillance and reconnaissance. The Predator serves as a satellite in that it can dwell an area. UAVs transmit important visual information to battlefield command via satellite or other data links. Once targets have been identified, and catalogued they can be disseminated through other weapons systems.
Recon Capability
The reconnaissance UAVs have multiple ways of conducting surveillance. On clear days, they use specially stabilized optical lenses that can zoom to high magnification. They use infrared at night, and under adverse conditions, they use synthetic aperture radar to peer through thick cloud cover, sandstorms or oilfield smoke. When the radar is reflected back, it can also be used to create a 3-D image of objects.
The reconnaissance UAVs have multiple ways of conducting surveillance. On clear days, they use specially stabilized optical lenses that can zoom to high magnification. They use infrared at night, and under adverse conditions, they use synthetic aperture radar to peer through thick cloud cover, sandstorms or oilfield smoke. When the radar is reflected back, it can also be used to create a 3-D image of objects.
Although no word has been given whether UAVs will completely assume the role of air missions in the future; it seems that the question is increasingly weighing in on the cost of training pilots and the loss of human life over that of military hardware.
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