The advent of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has changed the nature of warfare. Their persistence, economy, and utility have made them indispensable on the battlefield. What started as an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) in 1994 with the UAV that became the RQ-1 Predator has evolved into the armed-Predator (MQ-1), with more weaponized UAVs on the way. Soon the U.S. Army will field the extended-range/multi-purpose (ER/MP) Warrior unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and the U.S. Air Force will field the MQ-9 Reaper, both weaponized and lethal. As UAVs evolved from the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR)-only platform to one that can find, fix, and target, much debate has emerged over their best employment. Within the Air Force, the natural fit for the MQ-1 into the armed reconnaissance role is not seamless. The way ISR and ground attack assets are doctrinally resourced, tasked, and flown in support of requirements are at odds with each other. Between the services, the mission of fixed-wing reconnaissance and ground attack creates a debate over traditional roles and missions. Additionally, the command and control structure of the Theater Air Control System/Army Air-Ground System (TACS/AAGS) is not optimized to support the integration of UAV operations required in tomorrow's battlespace. The purpose of this paper is to examine the issues of weaponized UAV integration into the future battlespace from the standpoint of doctrine, operational concepts, and roles and missions and to make recommendations on how best to employ this capability in the future. Chapter 2 provides background information on the evolution and employment of weaponized UAVs and reviews relevant joint and service doctrine. Chapter 3 analyzes the issues associated with command and control of weaponized UAVs, discusses the service programs and points of view, and looks at emerging doctrine. Chapter 4 provides recommendations based on the current issues.
Command, Control and Integration of Weaponized Unmanned Aircraft into the Air-to-Ground System
2007
49 pages
Report
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Aircraft , Military Operations, Strategy, & Tactics , Common Carrier & Satellite , Air land battles , Aerial reconnaissance , Joint military activities , Missions , Command and control systems , Air strikes , Integration , Drones , Weapon delivery , Evolution(Development) , Reconnaissance , Utilization , Surveillance , Army , Standards , Attack , Military doctrine , Air control centers , Air force , Unmanned aircraft systems , Weaponization , Tacs/aags(Theater air control system/army air-ground system) , Mq-1 aircraft , Mq-9 aircraft , Er/mp aircraft , Uas(Unmanned aircraft systems) , Uav(Unmanned aerial vehicles) , Rq-5 aircraft , Weaponized uavs , Weaponized uas , Er/mp(Extended-range/multipurpose) , Armed reconnaissance , Ground attack , Air force doctrine , Army doctrine , Joint doctrine