Despite the “drawdown” and end of combat, the US Army is reportedly fielding a new fixed wing aircraft in Iraq: the MQ-1C Gray Eagle.
If the Gray Eagle looks oddly familiar, it should: this “new aircraft” is the Army’s version of the Air Force’s Predator.
The Air Force Times notes the push by the US Air Force Academy to inspire cadets about a career field most still dread: UAVs.
Flying a drone isn’t sexy — and the cadets at the Air Force Academy here don’t pretend that it is… Read more
The Houston Chronicle, via Military.com, has an article on Major Jon Stiles, a US Air Force Predator operator who flies out of Houston for the Texas Air National Guard. The aircraft he controls are flying over Afghanistan and Iraq.
As similar articles have noted in the past, UAV/RPA operators certainly do not experience the same “combat” conditions as troops on the ground or even the aviators directly overhead. That said, their actions can still have life and death impacts — immediately visible on the screen — as well as strategic implications. There is certainly pressure and stress, though perhaps in a way not yet fully comprehended by the military.
The Gorgon Stare is a 1,000 pound sensor that will enable a wide area to be monitored across a variety of spectrums, day or night, likely including both visual and infrared. It is currently set to be deployed to Afghanistan on the MQ-9 Reaper. Rather than having a single operator operate a single camera pointed at an area just a few miles (or feet) across (as, say, the Predator), the idea is that this sensor will capture a huge area, and users can simply choose that which they want to see. Think of it as “Google Earth” — only live.
The ARGUS may eventually supersede Gorgon Stare with, as its namesake implies, far more — and more detailed — “eyes.”
Think “religious freedom” advocate Michael Weinstein will consider this an endorsement of Greek mythology by the US military, and a “propaganda tool” for American adversaries? Given Weinstein’s selective outrage to date, it’s probably unlikely, though the fact it fits so well into his dogmatic rants demonstrates how ludicrous his claims actually are.
According to press reports, the US Army reprimanded four officers and “called on the Air Force to investigate the actions” of Predator operators after their actions resulted in a strike on a civilian convoy in Afghanistan.
The order to attack was based on inaccurate information from the crew at an Air Force base in Nevada Read more
The US Marines are putting Hellfire surface-attack missiles on one of their less traditional airframes:
A KC-130 aerial refueling tanker/transport.
In fact, it’s a fascinating (if not completely new) idea. Over the years ideas have been floated from putting hundreds of air-to-air missiles on the B-52 to turning C-5 and C-17 cargo aircraft into bombers. (The payload of a B-2 is reportedly 40,000lbs. The C-5: 250,000lbs.) What were once innovative flights of fancy by aircraft designers and Air Force operators are now standard fare (ie, the addition of Hellfire missiles to the Predator UAV).
Still, a little caution is warranted. Necessity is often the mother of invention (reference the early AC-119 Gunships in Vietnam). However, boredom and “mission-envy” sometimes play a role as well.
The US military announced that pilot error was to blame for the loss of a pilot-less UAV in Afghanistan.
After an inflight-change of mission crew for an MQ-1 Predator, the new pilot
realized the elevation around the aircraft exceeded its altitude…
That’s kind of like realizing your keys are still in the ignition after your locked car door slams shut. Only worse. The good news, in one respect, Read more