Unmanned Systems

The first UAV to be outfitted with Hellfire missiles, the Predator launched strikes on al Qaeda targets in Yemen and on anti-aircraft artillery in Iraq. DARPA is developing an unmanned combat aircraft for the Air Force and Navy that will drop bombs and suppress enemy air defenses. Army commanders called for more of these short-range reconnaissance aircraft to be sent to Iraq because ground forces were flying them at four times the expected rate. The Navy originally developed this UAV to spot whales during training exercises, but added some sensors a month before Operation Iraqi Freedom so Marines could use the model-airplane-size drone. The Pentagon recently paid $18 million for an emergency order of small robotic vehicles that allow soldiers to remotely detonate explosive devices. The Army will spend $500 million over the next five years developing unmanned vehicles, including one that would carry missiles and another that would transport troops and supplies. The Marine Corps is developing a 13-pound robot that could be carried in a backpack and maintained with a screwdriver. The Navy is spending $30 million developing a 7-meter unmanned inflatable boat. An early version protected large surface ships during fighting in Iraq and could eventually fire guns and missiles. The Navy is experimenting with a mini-submarine drone for hunting mines. In April, it lost the $750,000, 10-foot-long underwater robot off Norway, but recovered it later.