Embracing Autonomy

摘要

On 22 March 2011, two US Air Force pilots ejected from an F-15E Strike Eagle that crashed in Libya, beginning a complex rescue mission with life-or-death consequences. The US Marine Corps launched a search-and-rescue package of two V-22 Ospreys, two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters, and two AV/8B Harrier jets. An Osprey rescued one of the pilots after the Harriers dropped two bombs to keep locals away. Rebel forces took in the other pilot, eventually turning him over to US forces.1 A few months later, on 21 June 2011, a heavy antiaircraft weapon shot down a US Navy remotely piloted helicopter over Libya, its remains scattered around a stronghold loyal to Mu'ammar Gadhafi-the object of its surveillance.2 This time, rather than launching a complex search-and-rescue mission, Navy officials simply expressed disappointment in losing the Fire Scout's full motion video feeds. "The loss of aircrews would have been much worse if that had happened, but operationally it did impact us," said Capt Patrick Smith, Navy and US Marine Corps program manager for Multi-mission Tactical Unmanned Air Systems. "We always want our air vehicles to come back to us. The downside of it is the loss of capability. ... It does impact what the war fighters have available in their magazine to continue operations.'"