ang1sgt
09-13-2008, 07:24 AM
This is one of those times where old TOP still wishes he was still Serving and in Uniform. Since the concept of Un-Manned Drones came into being, I saw and desired to work on these systems. It just made sense to me and it makes even more sense when you see the full capabilities of these airframes and systems.
This article from the USAF Airman Magazine gives a quick look at the three different airframes. A good high level review.
http://www.airmanonline.af.mil/articles/story.asp?id=123111801
UAS: Unseen, Unheard, Unstoppable
by Orville F. Desjarlais Jr.
8/21/2008 - Airman September/October -- When the Air Force grounded all of its 700 F-15 aircraft in November 2007, following a mishap, the jet's firepower was noticeably absent in the war on terrorism for 18 days.
Sometimes the only Air Force bomb-carrying aircraft in Afghanistan during that time didn't even have pilots in the cockpit. Carrying the load was the service's deadly MQ-9 Reaper UAS, or unmanned aircraft system.
Able to carry as much as an F-16 Fighting Falcon, the Reaper becomes more popular each day in war zones because of the bombs-on-target capability it provides. And its footprint is small: Reaper crews fly the unmanned aircraft from half a world away.
Today, the Air Force must operate with unmanned aircraft systems, and they are now part of the way the Air Force does business, from launching bombs in support of ground troops to providing real-time reconnaissance.
While some in the pilot community eyes the unmanned aircraft with apprehension, the new systems are the most-requested assets in Iraq and Afghanistan.
When the first of the unmanned aircraft, the RQ-1 Predator, became operational in March 1997, it only provided real-time "eyes in the sky" reconnaissance capability. But its success spawned the hunter-killer Reaper and the high-flying, long-range, reconnaissance-gathering RQ-4 Global Hawk.
The advantage unmanned aircraft systems have over manned aircraft is the human element. Pilots need breaks. Unmanned aircraft can fly from 20 to 30 hours without stopping. They all can "loiter" over an area for hours on end, thwarting developing enemy operations that could kill friendly forces. But that's only one advantage.
The Air Force continues to exploit each aircraft's capabilities -- seemingly only limited by the users' imagination. The Air Force use of unmanned aircraft systems is still in evolution.
As Charles Darwin once said: It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
The following pages highlight the Air Force's main unmanned aircraft systems: Predator, Global Hawk and Reaper. Think of it as Unmanned Aircraft Systems 101.
Editor's note: For operational security, some members are identified by rank and first name.
MQ-1 Predator: Battlefield Workhorse
To say the Predator is unmanned is somewhat misleading. Yes, there is no pilot in the cockpit. But, it takes about 55 experts to operate the unmanned aircraft system during a 24-hour mission.
That's because the Predator is more of a system than an aircraft. A fully operational Predator system consists of four aircraft; a ground-control station that harbors the pilot, sensor operator and mission coordinator; a primary satellite link so Airmen can operate the aircraft from half-way around the world; and a forward-deployed launch and recovery element.
"Compared to the F-16, where the pilot makes most of the decisions, we now have a virtual cockpit with hundreds of people -- if we need them -- to give us the information to get the sortie done and the mission accomplished," said Col. Chris Chambliss, the 432nd Wing commander at Creech Air Force Base, Nev.
One way Predator experts do their mission is via remote split operations. This means a bulk of Predator personnel stay at Creech and remotely fly combat missions, while a small contingent deploys with the aircraft abroad. That's why Colonel Chambliss also commands Creech's 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing, fighting the war on terrorism from a base outside Las Vegas.
"We have a very small footprint forward that launches, recovers and maintains the aircraft. But back here it takes a large footprint of people to make the system work -- operations and maintenance," the colonel said. He said there are also many imagery analysts around the world who interpret Predator imagery and provide it to customers.
Predator maintainers deploy to a war zone six months a year, on average. As "enablers," they are not included in the Air and Space Expeditionary Force schedule, but deploy when needed.
"Creech is a training ground for us," Staff Sgt. Jason Gregory said. "It takes about six months to train a new maintainer, and the minute they're trained, they're deployed.
"While deployed, we work six days a week, 12 hours a day," said the Predator crew chief with the 43rd Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron. "It's rewarding. We're sending aircraft up to do real missions -- saving people's lives, taking out the bad guys."
Over the past two years the operations tempo at Creech has exponentially increased because of the ever-increasing demand for the aircraft in the war zones.
When Captain Jason switched from flying B-52 Stratofortress bombers to become a Predator pilot, some other pilots treated him like an outcast. He said many didn't grasp the importance of the new system.
"However, as time passed, and ground commanders are asking for more and more Predators -- the most requested asset in the war -- I think the mentality of people started to change," said the member of Creech's 15th Reconnaissance Squadron.
"They're realizing the importance of the platform and what we bring to the fight," the captain said. "Every time they say they need more, we send more into the sky. That's how we help the guys on the ground find the bad guys."
Predator evolution is the cause of the flood of requests coming in from combatant commanders. Its capability to gather near real-time video imagery, day or night, in all types of weather, is popular with troops on the ground. And it fires Hellfire missiles.
The Air Force owns the unmanned aircraft system, but Soldiers, Marines and special forces determine its operations tempo.
So the Predator community continues to tweak its missions to better serve ground troops. For instance, because it can loiter for so long, one Predator mission is to find improvised explosive devices -- and actually try to catch the enemy planting them.
The exponential growth of the Predator's spawn, the MQ-9 Reaper, doesn't mean there will be fewer Predators. Colonel Chambliss said the Air Force is still buying Predators to continue its role as an intelligence gatherer, or to engage the enemy when needed. At the same time, Reaper is evolving into a close-air-support aircraft, like the A-10 Thunderbolt II.
As time goes on, and the Air Force changes the Predator system to better serve ground troops, its role may change yet again, the colonel said.
Only time will tell.
This article from the USAF Airman Magazine gives a quick look at the three different airframes. A good high level review.
http://www.airmanonline.af.mil/articles/story.asp?id=123111801
UAS: Unseen, Unheard, Unstoppable
by Orville F. Desjarlais Jr.
8/21/2008 - Airman September/October -- When the Air Force grounded all of its 700 F-15 aircraft in November 2007, following a mishap, the jet's firepower was noticeably absent in the war on terrorism for 18 days.
Sometimes the only Air Force bomb-carrying aircraft in Afghanistan during that time didn't even have pilots in the cockpit. Carrying the load was the service's deadly MQ-9 Reaper UAS, or unmanned aircraft system.
Able to carry as much as an F-16 Fighting Falcon, the Reaper becomes more popular each day in war zones because of the bombs-on-target capability it provides. And its footprint is small: Reaper crews fly the unmanned aircraft from half a world away.
Today, the Air Force must operate with unmanned aircraft systems, and they are now part of the way the Air Force does business, from launching bombs in support of ground troops to providing real-time reconnaissance.
While some in the pilot community eyes the unmanned aircraft with apprehension, the new systems are the most-requested assets in Iraq and Afghanistan.
When the first of the unmanned aircraft, the RQ-1 Predator, became operational in March 1997, it only provided real-time "eyes in the sky" reconnaissance capability. But its success spawned the hunter-killer Reaper and the high-flying, long-range, reconnaissance-gathering RQ-4 Global Hawk.
The advantage unmanned aircraft systems have over manned aircraft is the human element. Pilots need breaks. Unmanned aircraft can fly from 20 to 30 hours without stopping. They all can "loiter" over an area for hours on end, thwarting developing enemy operations that could kill friendly forces. But that's only one advantage.
The Air Force continues to exploit each aircraft's capabilities -- seemingly only limited by the users' imagination. The Air Force use of unmanned aircraft systems is still in evolution.
As Charles Darwin once said: It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
The following pages highlight the Air Force's main unmanned aircraft systems: Predator, Global Hawk and Reaper. Think of it as Unmanned Aircraft Systems 101.
Editor's note: For operational security, some members are identified by rank and first name.
MQ-1 Predator: Battlefield Workhorse
To say the Predator is unmanned is somewhat misleading. Yes, there is no pilot in the cockpit. But, it takes about 55 experts to operate the unmanned aircraft system during a 24-hour mission.
That's because the Predator is more of a system than an aircraft. A fully operational Predator system consists of four aircraft; a ground-control station that harbors the pilot, sensor operator and mission coordinator; a primary satellite link so Airmen can operate the aircraft from half-way around the world; and a forward-deployed launch and recovery element.
"Compared to the F-16, where the pilot makes most of the decisions, we now have a virtual cockpit with hundreds of people -- if we need them -- to give us the information to get the sortie done and the mission accomplished," said Col. Chris Chambliss, the 432nd Wing commander at Creech Air Force Base, Nev.
One way Predator experts do their mission is via remote split operations. This means a bulk of Predator personnel stay at Creech and remotely fly combat missions, while a small contingent deploys with the aircraft abroad. That's why Colonel Chambliss also commands Creech's 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing, fighting the war on terrorism from a base outside Las Vegas.
"We have a very small footprint forward that launches, recovers and maintains the aircraft. But back here it takes a large footprint of people to make the system work -- operations and maintenance," the colonel said. He said there are also many imagery analysts around the world who interpret Predator imagery and provide it to customers.
Predator maintainers deploy to a war zone six months a year, on average. As "enablers," they are not included in the Air and Space Expeditionary Force schedule, but deploy when needed.
"Creech is a training ground for us," Staff Sgt. Jason Gregory said. "It takes about six months to train a new maintainer, and the minute they're trained, they're deployed.
"While deployed, we work six days a week, 12 hours a day," said the Predator crew chief with the 43rd Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron. "It's rewarding. We're sending aircraft up to do real missions -- saving people's lives, taking out the bad guys."
Over the past two years the operations tempo at Creech has exponentially increased because of the ever-increasing demand for the aircraft in the war zones.
When Captain Jason switched from flying B-52 Stratofortress bombers to become a Predator pilot, some other pilots treated him like an outcast. He said many didn't grasp the importance of the new system.
"However, as time passed, and ground commanders are asking for more and more Predators -- the most requested asset in the war -- I think the mentality of people started to change," said the member of Creech's 15th Reconnaissance Squadron.
"They're realizing the importance of the platform and what we bring to the fight," the captain said. "Every time they say they need more, we send more into the sky. That's how we help the guys on the ground find the bad guys."
Predator evolution is the cause of the flood of requests coming in from combatant commanders. Its capability to gather near real-time video imagery, day or night, in all types of weather, is popular with troops on the ground. And it fires Hellfire missiles.
The Air Force owns the unmanned aircraft system, but Soldiers, Marines and special forces determine its operations tempo.
So the Predator community continues to tweak its missions to better serve ground troops. For instance, because it can loiter for so long, one Predator mission is to find improvised explosive devices -- and actually try to catch the enemy planting them.
The exponential growth of the Predator's spawn, the MQ-9 Reaper, doesn't mean there will be fewer Predators. Colonel Chambliss said the Air Force is still buying Predators to continue its role as an intelligence gatherer, or to engage the enemy when needed. At the same time, Reaper is evolving into a close-air-support aircraft, like the A-10 Thunderbolt II.
As time goes on, and the Air Force changes the Predator system to better serve ground troops, its role may change yet again, the colonel said.
Only time will tell.