_ December 14th, 2011 | by David Pegg | Published in Covert Drone War, Drones carousel _
A Predator drone prepares to take to the skies. At the end of the month the US will withdraw its armed forces from Iraq after eight years of combat operations. This will include its armada of combat and surveillance drones – a fleet that has transformed during the occupation. When American forces entered Iraq in 2003, the US military had only 158 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in operation. Today, the US Department of Defense has more than 7,000 at its disposal. And those systems have got vastly more sophisticated.
‘Every one of our brigades has its own drone’
Last month, the Bureau spoke to Major General Jeffrey Buchanan, chief spokesman for the United States Forces in Iraq, about how drones have changed the way the US fights its wars.
Speaking from Baghdad, General Buchanan explained: ‘Technology has evolved over time. What started out as a system that was only available in few numbers and controlled at the highest levels has now made it down. Every one of our brigades has its own RPA [remotely piloted aircraft].’
He denied that ‘lethal fires’ – assassination missions – had defined the US’ use of drones in Iraq, focusing instead on how they had changed reconnaissance.
‘The dominant use in Iraq has not been for providing ground attack or things like that,’ he said. ‘It’s really all been about ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance]. We’ve used RPAs in combination with piloted aircraft, working directly for ground commanders, providing extended surveillance on key communication routes or oil pipelines or borders.
‘You have miles and miles of empty pipeline going across the desert. It’s far more efficient and effective if you maintain surveillance on it through the use of UAVs than if you sustain an assault every 200m.’
![SASFOR [home]](/users/sasfor/site_logo.jpg "SASFOR"){kind=logo}
http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2011/12/14/analysis-where-us-drones-are-going-after-iraq/
RSS
A Predator drone prepares to take to the skies. At the end of the month the US will withdraw its armed forces from Iraq after eight years of combat operations. This will include its armada of combat and surveillance drones – a fleet that has transformed during the occupation. When American forces entered Iraq in 2003, the US military had only 158 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in operation. Today, the US Department of Defense has more than 7,000 at its disposal. And those systems have got vastly more sophisticated.
‘Every one of our brigades has its own drone’
Last month, the Bureau spoke to Major General Jeffrey Buchanan, chief spokesman for the United States Forces in Iraq, about how drones have changed the way the US fights its wars.
Speaking from Baghdad, General Buchanan explained: ‘Technology has evolved over time. What started out as a system that was only available in few numbers and controlled at the highest levels has now made it down. Every one of our brigades has its own RPA [remotely piloted aircraft].’
He denied that ‘lethal fires’ – assassination missions – had defined the US’ use of drones in Iraq, focusing instead on how they had changed reconnaissance.
‘The dominant use in Iraq has not been for providing ground attack or things like that,’ he said. ‘It’s really all been about ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance]. We’ve used RPAs in combination with piloted aircraft, working directly for ground commanders, providing extended surveillance on key communication routes or oil pipelines or borders.
‘You have miles and miles of empty pipeline going across the desert. It’s far more efficient and effective if you maintain surveillance on it through the use of UAVs than if you sustain an assault every 200m.’