Report: Drones Could Inspect Navigational Aids, But No Funding Planned

摘要

Unmanned aircraft could inspect navigational aids used to land at airfields in foreign countries in support of U.S. military operations, but the Air Force has no plans to invest in this capability, the service's top civilian leader told lawmakers in a recent report. Using drones instead of manned aircraft to perform these airborne inspections could help keep costs low, reduce aircrew exposure in dangerous areas and improve flexibility to meet requirements for "round-the-clock operations at airfields," Air Force Secretary Michael Donley writes in the August report.