October 22,2008:
The U.S. Army has successfully
tested a lightweight laser designator for its RQ-7 Shadow 200 UAV. Earlier this
year, a lightweight satellite communications system was also approved for use
in the RQ-7. This enables control via an operator back in the United States.
These two devices are already used in the much heavier MQ-1 Predators (which
weigh a ton and can carry 450 pounds of sensors and communications equipment.)
The laser designator enables the RQ-7 to designate targets for air force
aircraft carrying the more accurate laser guided bombs.
The Shadow
UAVs weigh only 327 pounds each and can carry 56 pounds of equipment (usually a
day or night vision camera and a transmitter). The Shadow 200 is eleven feet
long and has a wingspan of 12.75 feet. It can fly as high as 19,000 feet (out
of range of small arms). The Shadow has a range of about 50 kilometers and can
stay in the air for about six hours.
While the
RQ-7 is going to be replaced by the RQ-1C in the next few years, there is an
enormous demand for UAVs just now. So the RQ-7s will be worked hard (they have
already flown nearly 400,000 hours), and will probably be heavily used until worn out or lost in action.
The army and
air force are cooperating on developing and maintaining the Predator
replacement, the slightly larger (1.4 ton), and more capable, MQ-1C Sky
Warrior. The air force will be operating their Sky Warriors from the United
States, using the satellite communication capability, and is trying to convince
the army that this would be they way for them to go.
Keeping the
operators back in the U.S. is called "reach back" and is increasingly
popular with the military. It's expensive, time consuming, and often dangerous,
to send people to a combat zone. Inexpensive satellite communications, and
increasing use of computers, has allowed more and more support troops to be
left behind. It works, even though it does prevent some face-to-face
opportunities. This has not been a problem. And even when it is, the military
is increasingly using video conferencing.
The army is also
developing UGVs (unmanned ground vehicles), and these could be run by stateside
operators as well. All this is part of the trend towards increasing automation
and remote-control in warfare. Combat has increasingly become a matter of
issuing the command; "send in the droids," and leave the people at
home.