Revelations in Haiti: The Side Effects of New Priorities for Remotely Piloted ISR Aircraft
Abstract
The RQ-4 Global Hawk, MQ-1 Predator, and other remotely piloted intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms typically perform combat missions to defeat improvised explosive devices or locate and neutralize enemy forces. However, the US response to the devastating earthquake near Port-au- Prince, Haiti, on 12 January 2010 challenges the paradigm that ISR simply counteracts threats.1 In response to the Haiti disaster, the international community initiated a massive recovery and relief effort.2 The United States alone deployed more than 22,000 military personnel, 30 ships, and 300 aircraft in support of Operation Unified Response.3 The deployed aircraft included several manned and remotely piloted ISR platforms. Unified Response was the first international deployment of remotely piloted ISR assets in support of a humanitarian operation although some of these assets assisted domestically after Hurricane Katrina.4 The RQ-4 and MQ-1 provided time-critical imagery support and overwatch for military and civilian relief workers in Haiti. However, use of these military assets to support humanitarian operations complicates future decisions regarding their employment. A complication emerges when remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) tackle problems beyond their traditional roles of finding, fixing, tracking, and engaging targets. Specifically, such a new role gives policy makers, war fighters, and the public a different perspective of ISR. Providing humanitarian support via remotely piloted ISR platforms contests the established paradigm by creating debate about when and how to employ these assets. Unified Response reveals that the United States can respond to international humanitarian operations with ISR aircraft whenever decision makers choose to do so. Consequently, the operation demonstrates that the ISR community must be prepared to conduct these operations with the necessary manpower, support, and equipment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA562378
Entities
People
- Jaylan Haley
Organizations
- Air University