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Special Report: UAVs - frontline flyers
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| 05 May 2006 |
By Alon Ben David JDW Correspondent
Tel Aviv
Robert Hewson Editor of Jane's Air Launched Weapons
London
Damian Kemp Jane's Aviation Desk Editor
London
and Stephen Trimble JDW Americas Bureau Chief
Washington, DC
The worth of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been known for decades, with Israel leading the way in both reconnaissance UAVs and combat UAVs (UCAVS).
The increased tempo of US combat operations using UAVs, particularly their continued use in both Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as for border and maritime patrol, reflects the changed mindset of armed forces around the world.
The acknowledgement, particularly in Europe, that the next generation of aircraft after the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) multirole combat aircraft is unlikely to be manned reiterates this shift.
Throughout the world UAVs are on the rise.
Recognised as a pioneer and world leader in the area of UAVs, Israel's last six years of low-intensity conflict with the Palestinians have led to a dramatic expansion of UAV roles and to further developments in operational doctrine.
"Out of 28,000 operational flight hours in 2005, 18,000 were conducted by UAVs, [which is] about 65 per cent," a senior Israel Air Force (IAF) officer told Jane's.
The IAF is responsible for operating all UAVs from the tactical level and up in the Israel Defence Force (IDF) and for providing UAV services for the ground forces and the navy.
"The constant fighting in the Palestinian territories, especially in the Gaza Strip, is creating a growing demand for UAV hours, which we more than doubled in the last [few] years," according to the source.
"Two UAVs could provide a commander with a constant 24-hour surveillance coverage of an area - something that in the past required the operation of at least six Tzofit imagery intelligence [IMINT] aircraft [based on a King Air 200], which meant the mobilisation of a whole squadron," said retired brigadier Mickey Bar, former head of rotorcraft operations in the IAF and currently head of Israel Aircraft Industries' (IAI's) Military Aircraft Group.
Palestinian eyewitnesses have claimed that Israel has been operating armed UAVs in the West Bank and Gaza that take part in precision attacks. The IDF has not confirmed these reports.
"Some of the manned platforms existing today have no advantage over the unmanned," said Bar. "Looking ahead at the future JSF, by the time it becomes operational, UAVs could provide the same if not better capabilities, negating the need to acquire such expensive platforms. By the end of the next decade, I believe that more than half of IAF platforms will be unmanned."
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