Standing "the Watches" with Armed UAVs

Abstract

This paper addresses the additional Options available to the operational commander in charge of conducting 'presence and monitoring' missions with the introduction of an armed capability on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Specifically, the writer argues that the intelligent use and support of armed UAVs can replace selected missions currently being conducted in Operations Northern Watch and Southern Watch, reducing the threat to manned aircraft and aircrew. It is further argued that many current missions can not be adequately replaced by the armed UAV. The paper presents a brief history of UAV operations, a brief summary of future UAV programs an the current limitations to this family of weapon systems. After a chronology of significant events concerning post-Desert Storm Iraq operations, the writer looks at capabilities the armed UAV could offer the operational commander in executing his assigned mission.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 13, 2002
Accession Number
ADA405617

Entities

People

  • Francis R. Mcculloch

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Sensors
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Defense
  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Anti-Tank Missiles
  • Attack Aircraft
  • Department Of Defense
  • Fighter Aircraft
  • Military Aircraft
  • Military Operations
  • Reliability
  • Synthetic Aperture Radar
  • Test And Evaluation
  • United States European Command
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Aerial Unmanned Vehicle Swarm Micro Periodontal Dentistry.
  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - UAVs