When one thinks of drones the idea of a robot being operated 7,000 miles away from a shipping crate in Nevada, killing blurry dots on a small screen comes to mind. The media loves to focus reports of drone strikes, however oft ignored are the 99% percent of drone operations carried out with the sole purpose of either ISR, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance, or CAS, Close Air Support. Currently two U.S. governmental agencies operate Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs) outside of the United States, the CIA and the various branches of the Armed Services, with the USAF operating the most RPAs.
The CIA conducts most of its missions clandestinely from secret bases in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, and engages targets where there is little to no U.S. military presence, relying on information gathered from a host of sources on the whereabouts of specific high level targets. With a fleet of around 80 drones the CIA has enough airpower to stalk 20 targets persistently, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for months on end.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism estimates the following cumulative statistics about US CIA drone strikes:
Pakistan 2004–2013 CIA Drone Strikes
Total strikes: 378
Obama strikes: 326
Total killed: 2,526-3,624
Yemen 2002–2013 US Covert Action
Confirmed drone strikes: 55-65
Total killed: 269-389
Civilians killed: 21-56
Somalia 2007–2013 US Covert Action
Drone strikes: 4-10
Total killed: 9-30
Civilians killed: 0-15
The CIA has only conducted around 450 drone strikes in the past decade, however that number seems much higher given the disproportionately large amount of coverage the specific sorties receive.
The Air Force on the other hand operates a much larger fleet of RPAs; 268 MQ-1 Predators and around 70 larger ,more powerful MQ-9 Reapers, awaiting delivery of 260 more for a total of 329. The Air Force refers to its RPA fleet in terms of combat air patrols, or CAPs. Each patrol is made up of three to four RPAs, so that one of the drones can always be flying over a target while the others are being repaired, refueled, or in transit. The Air Force currently operates 62 patrols 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The millions of hours of live video feed are in high demand of component commanders around the world, and each flight is watched by dozens of intelligence personnel.
The Air Force uses their RPAs quite differently from the CIA. USAF RPAs are used primarily for ISR and CAS of U.S. Military Forces on the ground. USAF RPAs have flown more than 2,000,000 hours in support of troops on the ground. These aircraft work closely with troops on the ground and provide an "eye in the sky", warning troops on the ground of approaching enemy troops, or even of IEDs that can be seen with the advanced optics and senors on the aircraft. RPAs even have the ability of using an IR "spotlight" which can bathe a given area in IR light illuminating the battlefield for US troops equipped with night vision, as if it were in the middle of the day. Embedded with each each Army or Marine Corps unit on the ground is an Air Force Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) consisting of an Air Liaison Officer (ALO), and a Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) who speak with the RPA operators and direct munitions via guided IR lasers. Rarely does an RPA crew engage a target that is not clearly identified and directed by a TACP team on the ground, allowing for unparalleled munitions accuracy. The USAF conducts thousands of sorties every year only releasing munitions in the most dire of situations, when troops on the ground are in harm's way and have requested close air support.
Drones are a powerful tool in modern combat. They range from the size of insects, to aircraft with a 100 foot wingspan that can loiter above a target for days, waiting for the right opportunity to unleash 50,000 pounds of armament. We are only just beginning to fully understand the plethora of applications for RPAs, from combat,surveillance, search and rescue, mapping, delivering food, to studying the atmosphere, and must not be rash in writing off their use simply as remote control death machines.
Thought provoking post Jordan! Drones are extraordinarily effective, and are highly diversified machines. I personally find the policy of drone use to be very interesting, as the consequences of their use is very important to understand, particularly with the recent transformation of American strategy in Afghanistan and the Pakistani tribal areas. I personally do not see a change in drone use coming in the near future. If the CIA maintains a fleet of drones they will undoubtedly use them to carry out acts that benefit their interests.
ReplyDeleteThe benefit of the information that drones produce is only as good as the institution gathering the info and using it. The information that drones gather might be vital in the right hands but it bothers me that is little oversight on how the CIA conducts themselves and they have a long history of meddling in public affairs to the detriment of American interests.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your article Jordan. Drones provide us with a way to survey and attack without the risk of losing a human life. I was thinking about joining the Air Force and heard through my father's Air force pilot friends that my generation will probably be the last generation of the traditional "pilots". In the near future unmanned machines will be first on the battlegrounds. I think it's highly beneficial the way our military uses the drones to protect ground troops. I thought it was very interesting to learn from you article that the drones have the capability to send an IR spotlight down to ground troops with night vision in order for them to see in total darkness.
ReplyDeleteJordan I think this shows the effectiveness of drones as well as the benefits that it has in enabling enemies and effectively taking out targets. While drones continue to be a debated topic I think they serve as a greater overall good and can prove beneficial in the end to the U.S.
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