Unmanned aircraft take on increased importance

"The US military's expanded overseas use of unmanned aircraft highlights the increased importance of such aerial platforms to current and future military operations, senior Air Force officers said here July 23.

The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan announced July 23 will serve as a template for how the Air Force will look in 2047 - the 100th anniversary of the US Air Force -- Gen. William M. Fraser III, the Air Force's vice chief of staff, told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.

"The future of our systems is really now," General Fraser said. "The Air Force today looks dramatically different than it did 35 years ago when I first came aboard on active duty."

The flight plan, he explained, lays out the Air Force's "vision for maximizing our efforts in unmanned aerial systems" today and in the future.

"We'll continue to push the UAS envelope," General Fraser said, adding that unmanned systems are unmanned in name only.

"While there may be no Airmen onboard the actual vehicle, there indeed are airmen involved in every step of the process," General Fraser said, including the pilots who operate the vehicles' remote controls and sensors and maintenance personnel.

Unmanned aircraft systems "represent an important addition to our comprehensive set of Air Force capabilities that actually define air power," General Fraser said.

Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, the Air Force's deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, told reporters that unmanned aircraft systems have proven effective during aerial strike missions against insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan, while also performing surveillance and intelligence-gathering missions.

Persistent flight capability, General Deptula said, is one of the advantages of employing unmanned aerial vehicles in military missions." Shephard