Silent menace

If the advent of the internet effectively bridged a gap between the imagination of science-fiction writers and the present day, then the progression of the technologies used in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) could well be the next link in that hi-tech chain; a glimpse of a future that once seemed far away. A lot of controversy surrounds the use of armed drones in war and conflict, but there’s no denying that from a purely technical standpoint, they represent a step forward in human technological advancement. The first recorded unmanned aircraft systems emerged in basic form in the early twentieth century. Recognising the advantages the innovation brought with it, new variants launched over the years, covering a wide spectrum of different uses.

Drones in their modern incarnation first surfaced about 35 years ago, and were originally used as surveillance tools. Although a large portion of the drones unveiled today are designed for military purposes and armed attacks, drones are also used for transportation purposes or to gather research on military reconnaissance missions. In addition, drones are brought in to assist projects covering scientific and commercial areas, and can also play a significant role when natural disasters strike. Brought in to provide useful data for rescue forces and emergency services, drones have the ability to determine where help is needed most, and they can also access areas that are too dangerous for humans to enter.

When natural disasters strike, the revolutionary UAS, the Aerosonde, comes to the rescue. A brainchild of AAI Corporation, the unmanned aircraft system is used specifically as a hurricane hunter. With power supplies ensuring it can run for over than 26 hours, the vehicle features a full electro-optic/infrared payload and, in the 1990s, was the first UAS to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

Still in demand, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) began utilising the 35lb system in 2006, capitalising on its ability to fly into hurricanes and communicate near-real-time data directly to the National Hurricane Centre in Florida. With many strings to its bow, the Aerosonde drone gathers data such as barometric pressure and temperature as accurately as manned hurricane hunters, but it also provides measurements far closer to the water’s surface than previously achieved by any tool designed for the same purpose.

Drones used in war
Kick-starting the use of drones on a larger scale, the U.S. introduced unmanned drones in the early days of the NATO campaign. At the time, drones were intended for surveillance purposes only and were not authorised to fire missiles. Before long, regulations were eased and the first test of an armed UAS was carried out in 2001 by the CIA. Hellfire missiles were fitted to a Predator drone, a vehicle initially used for spying. The menacing new Predator hybrid went on its first deployment in Yemen in 2002, a trial operation carried out, once again, by the CIA. To put the invention to the test, it was remotely controlled to blow up a sports utility vehicle in the middle of the desert.

A few years on, the armed Predator drone has advanced to the stage where it can demolish a lot more than sports cars, and it’s currently the most commonly used armed drone. Since President Obama came to power, drones used in war have spread like wildfire, and the drone influx associated with the war on Iraq was just the beginning. This development has sparked fury among anti-war campaigners, who describe armed drones as mindless killing machines controlled and fired like computer games, leaving thousands of casualties in their wake, be they innocent or not. Despite the heated debate about the immorality of drones, more and more combat scenarios are being supported by armed UAS vehicles. A significant surge occurred in 2010, when drone operators targeted Pakistan’s mountainous Waziristan region. More recently, at the end of April 2011 to be precise, Obama approved the use of armed Predator drones in Libya, permitting remote Predator operators to strike Gaddafi’s defence missions, including air defence, missile and radar sites. Following the death of Osama bin Laden, attacks in Yemen targeting individuals believed to be part of al Qaeda are other drone-fuelled combat missions that have grabbed the headlines.

Man in the loop
Remotely controlling UAS vehicles, trained operators employ a scheme called the man in the loop system. To offer a quick summary of the method, it involves a trained “pilot”, a remote control and a large computer screen. The remote control handles a lot of the operational functions automatically, and once the drone has identified a target, it gives the controller the option to fire the missile, with the simple command, “yes” or “no”. The role of the pilot is primarily to vet the target rather than to seek it out. Although the U.S. military forces had been criticised for recruiting controllers as young as 18, the man-in-the-loop control system generally requires an operator with considerable experience, backed by substantial training. To learn the precise skill of remotely ‘flying’ the missile, the virtual pilot undertakes training gained through simulators or live exercises. Aside from technical know-how, the controller must display an excellent capability to accurately interpret the video imagery and evaluate the missile’s capability to reach the correct target in real time.

Technical specifics
Armed Predator drones, along with a slew of other hybrids such the even more superior Reaper, can travel at a speed of 482kmph. The drones, controlled 6,000 miles away in the Creech Air Force Nevada desert or the alternative base located in Tucson, Arizona, can carry up to 14 missiles. The length of time a drone can stay in the air varies. Typically, a Predator drone plane can stay in the air for up for about 26 hours, whereas some of the unarmed drones are able to stay put in the air for up to 72 hours. Aside from endurance, other pivotal drone characteristics include high resolution cameras and sensors, enabling the drone to both ‘see’ and ‘feel’ objects and living creatures on the ground. Hypersensitive to extraordinary levels, the drone is even able to determine whether there are people present inside a building.

Coupled with the obvious benefit that they are not operated by pilots onboard, and are therefore not putting pilots’ lives at risk, UAS vehicles offer more precise targeting and have the ability to fly very low above the ground, which allows for better visibility. The U.S. defence secretary, Robert Gates, an avid supporter of the drone, has stressed in defence of the drone that it possess capabilities that larger aircraft such as A-10s and C-130s simply cannot provide, precision being one obvious benefit. Although drones don’t come cheap, they are still more affordable than a fighter plane – to compare, a drone can cost $40m, whereas a fighter plane can cost $350m.

The United States might be the most prominent player in the drone arena, with a considerable number of Predators and Reapers at its service, but several other countries are catching up – currently over 40 nations are developing UAS programmes, Russia being behind almost half of those emerging initiatives.

One candidate making significant moves in the highly competitive drone market is Israel. The Israeli military outshone its rivals when it equipped its forces with a new range of spy drones in 2004. Small enough to fit in a soldier’s backpack, the baby drones are a far cry from the larger UAS types previously used by Israel’s military force to spy on Palestinian militants in air strikes. Conceived to take aerial photos of targeted Palestinian territories, the mini drones Birdy and Spy There were both developed by Israel Aircraft Industries’ (IAI) engineering division. The most miniscule version yet to be unveiled by the same establishment is the Mosquito 1, a tiny, barely noticeable spying drone weighing up at a mere 250g. Which could change the way that the millitary track movements.

Domestic drones
In a bid to step up surveillance on society a notch, drones will soon come to serve domestic purposes in greater scale. Sparking a media storm, reports have indicated that police forces in several countries support the use of drones to keep an eye on the public. Turning a blind eye to privacy campaigners’ ardent protests, spying drones represent a progressive end of the UAS spectrum and the idea is widely embraced by several governments. In the UK, domestic spying drones are allegedly already being used for a variety of surveillance operations, albeit not yet officially. According to the Guardian newspaper, drones hit the skies in the summer of 2007 to keep an eye on festival-goers attending the large scale V-Festival held in Staffordshire. By 2012, it’s alleged that police in the UK will start to use unmanned spy drones for the “routine” monitoring of antisocial offenders including motorists, protesters, agricultural thieves and fly-tippers.

In the U.S., meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) still has strict rules requiring permission for agencies to use the drones in actual operations, but there are plans to relax the rules over the next two years, when police forces across the country might be allowed to routinely fly light-weight, unarmed drones up to 400ft above ground, completely out of eyesight of anyone roaming the grounds beneath. The two drones specifically produced to be used as domestic spying devices are the Dragonflyer x6 and the T-Hawk. Human rights groups will undoubtedly take an interest in how this develops.

Looking ahead
The future of the drone is an area of high priority, and hence we can expect that UAS technology will continue to press forward with pace as new versions designed to outdo their predecessors’ speed, endurance and ability to accommodate weaponry begin to emerge.

Offering a more tangible outlook of what the future might hold for the drone, the Unmanned Aircraft System Flight Plan, released in 2009, presents its predictions on how the drone sphere will develop through to the year of 2047. Radical to say the least, the 81-page long report suggests that the ever more sophisticated vehicles can come to replace every type of manned aircraft, spanning everything from bombers and air-to-air fighters to tankers. Even though the report spells out that the suggestions within are indications only, and that UAS vehicles are unlikely to wipe out the manned air fleet completely but rather serve as alternatives to conventional planes, it nevertheless suggests that UAS vehicles will soon equal the capabilities of traditional planes in all mission categories.

Whether the Airforce will succumb to using an entirely UAS-based air fleet remains to be seen, but drone technology is here to stay and is set to become not only more technologically advanced, but also more widely used.