Where Do UAVs Go From Here?

摘要

"Within 10 years, one-third of US ... deep strike aircraft will be unmanned," said Congress' 2001 defense bill. This claim, while shocking at the time, seems much less so in retrospect. Indeed, unmanned aerial vehicles, in general, have advanced further and faster than had once seemed possible. Previously, the services had only a handful of UAVs; today, they operate upwards of 1,000 remotely piloted aircraft and are clamoring for more, given that many of these systems have proved their operational worth in Afghanistan and Iraq. While most UAVs today are non-lethal, DOD's soon-to-be $3 billion-per-year program aims to give them a share of the strike mission, too.