Eyes in the sky: How the Orlan-10 UAV is shaping Russian artillery operations

摘要

US deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan established a new paradigm for the use of UAVs as they performed roles from route reconnaissance to targeted assassinations of high-value targets. Prior to this, unmanned aircraft had mainly been used to conduct spy missions, for example over North Korea and Vietnam. Developments in technology during the 1980s enabled remotely piloted aircraft to become smaller and fly longer missions. They were used for reconnaissance missions in Kosovo in 1999 to collect intelligence on Serbian forces and refugee movements, and enable battle damage assessments. The first armed US UAV was fielded in 2000 and controlled via radio rather than satellite, which forced service personnel closer to the theatre of operations. The armed capability, accompanied by satellite controls, enabled US President Barack Obama to expand the US counter-terror footprint abroad, without a dramatic increase in the number of US personnel serving overseas.