UAV Demonstrations |
FY 1996 UAV demonstrations are summarized below. In all cases, their results
reflected the situations that applied at the time for the assets used and
concepts explored.
| What, Where, When, Why | Goals and Main Features | Findings and Documentation |
|
U.S. Customs Service (USCS) P-3/UAV Interoperability Demo
|
Test UAV support of USCS P-3 AEW (using MAE Predator)
|
Worked best in daylight, rural areas Report to Congress, 1 May 96 |
|
Navy Carrier Battle Group (CVBG) Exercise
|
Eval integration of Predator system with CVBG operations
|
"This first-ever integration of Predator UAV support for
a (CVBG)
was an unqualified success." Two Predators flew 83 hrs; lost 43 hrs
for weather, maintenance, and flight operations restrictions 29 Dec 95 msg from Cmdr, Carrier Group 1, to CINCUSACOM (et al.) |
|
Predator-SSN Interoperability
|
Estab UAV-SSN link to demo SSN:
UAV control system aboard SSN |
UAV provided "a 15,000-ft-high periscope" for the
SSN in: supporting
initial surveillance, mission planning & SEAL team ingress; imaging
target destruction & relaying imagery to JTF for real-time BDA; and
monitoring SEAL team egress & recovery. Successful control transfer
of UAV from/to its land base, & conduct of operations under at-sea/submerged
conditions Project and after-action reports |
|
Hunter Support for Joint Ops
|
Hunter support for 2nd Bde, 4th Inf:
|
UAVs gave "unprecedented view of the enemy"
and credited with
"major contribution to the fight" (informal report msg). Flew
every mission (181.5 hrs), none lost to maintenance Improvements in managing fighters and UAV: Hunter flying a fixed altitude; fighters approach area high, then descend (in special area) below UAV for bomb runs Commander of 4th Inf Div "would like his division to train with UAVs as much as possible to further integrate the intel and targeting capabilities of the system..." (reporting msg) |
Assuring a Developer-Warfighter Partnership |
Operational Demonstration Events (image size: 49Kb)
Valuable lessons learned, both from these demonstrations and exercises and from the operational deployments of Predator to Bosnia, have influenced flight and ground operational procedures, operator training, logistics concepts, and C4I interfaces. Direct dissemination of Predator video to a wide audience has also been a byproduct of these deployments as various command elements of the joint forces learned of this highly useful intelligence source.
Further, the Predator-COMPTUEX and -SSN demonstrations helped to explore maritime-unique as well as joint concepts. The Navy's three basic UAV marinization requirement levels are:
1. Shipboard receipt of UAV imagery;
2. Shipboard control of UAV and payload; and
3. Shipboard launch and recovery of the UAV.
The two demonstrations illustrated multiple opportunities for the first two levels, and contributed inputs to the Navy's recent Predator marinization study (see pages 5 and 43).
During FY1996, most Predator assets have been committed to support Bosnia operations and the training base. For FY1997, however, exercises such as the Army's ForceXXI Warfighter Experiment and the joint exercise Roving Sands 97 plan to include Predator. These efforts will assist in the refinement of operational concepts and rigorously evaluate Predator's military utility against various battlefield situational awareness challenges. Over time, similar participation is anticipated from the HAE and TUAV ACTDs.
| At the Fall 1996 Air Force Chief of Staff Corona Conference, a decision was made to establish a UAV Battle Lab at Eglin AFB, FL, to explore emerging areas of warfare for the next century. Details will be provided in next year's edition of this report. |
