Report: UAV use has doubled over 9 months

[unhappycamper]

Army Spc. Charles Farram launches the Raven unmanned aerial vehicle in order to provide route reconnaissance through Mussayib, Iraq. The Raven accounts for the bulk of unmanned flight hours.They are set to rack up about 300,000 hours this year -- double the time they were used last year, an Army colonel said.


Report: UAV use has doubled over 9 months
By Lolita C. Baldor - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jan 2, 2008 16:42:34 EST

WASHINGTON— The military’s reliance on unmanned aircraft that can watch, hunt and sometimes kill insurgents has soared to more than 500,000 hours in the air, largely in Iraq, the Associated Press has learned.

And new Defense Department figures obtained by the AP show that the Air Force more than doubled its monthly use of drones between January and October, forcing it to take pilots out of the air and shift them to remote flying duty to meet part of the demand.

The dramatic increase in the development and use of drones across the armed services reflects what will be an even more aggressive effort over the next 25 years, according to the new report.

The jump in Iraq coincided with the buildup of U.S. forces this summer as the military swelled its ranks to quell the violence in Baghdad. But Pentagon officials said that even as troops begin to slowly come home this year, the use of Predators, Global Hawks, Shadows and Ravens will not likely slow.

“I think right now, the demand for the capability that the unmanned system provides is only increasing,” said Army Col. Bob Quackenbush, deputy director for Army Aviation. “Even as the surge ends, I suspect the deployment of the unmanned systems will not go down, particularly for larger systems.”


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_uav_080101/