U.S. Looks to Drones for Edge on Battlefield

Pilotless aircraft that so far have been used mostly to identify targets in Afghanistan are likely to play an even greater role as the United States expands its military campaign there.

Although the drones continue to be a key reconnaissance tool, they are increasingly being used to provide immediate damage assessments, allowing fighter jets to quickly return to targets that may have been missed by earlier airstrikes.

Military planners envision using the unmanned aerial vehicles--or UAVs--to help manage troop movements and keep tabs on enemy encampments. Eventually, some may be fitted with missiles that can be fired via remote control, military analysts said.

The unmanned planes are part of the new kind of warfare taking shape in Afghanistan. Sensors on the drones are helping gather information faster and more precisely so that attacks can be launched in minutes rather than the hours or days it took in past conflicts.

Briefing reporters this week, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld stressed the importance of the drones in Afghanistan.

“It seems to me . . . that as we go forward, we may find that there are a variety of unmanned vehicles of different types in different mediums that will be used by militaries for a variety of purposes that previously had been solely conducted by human beings,” he said.

Some Pentagon officials are already fretting that more unmanned planes are needed and are pushing for faster development of more capable drones.

“No doubt about it, we just don’t have enough, and some need improvements,” said Loren Thompson, managing director of the Lexington Institute, an Arlington, Va.-based defense think thank. “If [the conflict in Afghanistan] happened five years later, we wouldn’t be so concerned.”

Flying drones have been around for decades, but it has been only in recent years that advancements in telecommunications and sensors have given them the capabilities sought by the military.

Their intelligence-gathering potential got a huge boost two years ago during the U.S.-led campaign in Yugoslavia; the drones used there kept constant watch on troop movements, forcing many Serbian forces into hiding.

Pilotless aircraft have several advantages over manned spy planes and satellites, analysts say.

The Predator unmanned aircraft, for instance, can “loiter” over an area for up to 40 hours, keeping uninterrupted track of movements in a village or on a road. In addition to sensors and radar, the Predator has state-of-the-art cameras that can provide live detailed images of an encampment--even what those in the camp are wearing.

While manned aircraft such as the U-2 and E-8 Joint STARS airborne radar can refuel in the air, they are limited by their crews’ endurance. More important, the crews are at risk of getting shot down.

As for spy satellites, they can see virtually anywhere in the world and collect intelligence across a wider area without risking a life. But their coverage over an area is limited to about 20 minutes three or four times a day as they circle the Earth at a predictable interval and path. To foil such surveillance, for instance, North Korean soldiers have reportedly stop their activities during expected flyovers by U.S. spy satellites.

Recent reports on the Afghanistan campaign asserted that a Predator had fired Hellfire antitank missiles at a Taliban compound. That would mark the first time that an armed flying drone had engaged in combat.

Pentagon officials declined to comment on the reports, and military analysts differ on whether drones with that capability could have been deployed so quickly.

Last February, the Air Force successfully test-fired three Hellfire missiles from a Predator. But they were fired from 2,000 feet, the maximum altitude for the Hellfire but dangerously low for a drone, which typically operates at 20,000 to 30,000 feet. At such low altitudes, the slow-flying drones are susceptible to antiaircraft fire.