UAV Annual Report, FY 1997

   Airborne reconnaissance is enduring, but it is not unchanging. As we look to the future, we see our mix of airborne reconnaissance assets evolving in response to new technologies as well as joint strategies, doctrine, and a more diverse threat. In this UAV Annual Report, our third, we see unmanned aerial vehicles playing an ever-increasing role, not only in the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) world, but in other mission areas as well.The U.S. military faces a challenging future in an era of dynamic change, constrained resources, potential new roles, and rapid
technological advancement.  These factors require innovative thinking and new ways to shape change. UAVs will help us shape this change. They represent both a revolution in military affairs and a revolution in business affairs.

Joint Vision 2010 (JV 2010) is built on the premise that modern and emerging technologies — particularly information-specific advances — should make a new level of joint and coalition capability possible. Underlying these technological innovations is information superiority, the ability to collect, process and disseminate an uninterrupted flow of information while exploiting or denying an adversary’s ability to do the same. We can achieve full spectrum dominance through:

 1. Dominant Maneuver;  2. Precision Engagement;
 3. Full-Dimensional Protection; and   4. Focused Logistics.

The capacity to dominate any adversary and control any situation in any operation will be the key capability we ask of our armed forces in the 21st century. UAVs will provide a sustained, responsive, accurate picture of the battlefield.

In addition to JV 2010, our operational concept for the future, the National Security Strategy for a New Century stresses the “imperative of engagement.” Many aspects of our strategy are focused on shaping the international environment to deter or prevent threats. A second element of this integrated approach is the requirement to maintain an ability to respond across the full spectrum of potential crises, up to and including fighting and winning major theater wars. Finally, we must prepare today to meet the challenges of tomorrow’s uncertain future.

As you can see on the cover of this year’s report, we expect to use our growing UAV capability to support our national strategy, to include being “on call” to respond to transnational threats. Our tactical and endurance UAVs continue to make significant progress and will complement both our manned systems and our space sensors. We can take great satisfaction from the following accomplishments:

  • Predator, the Defense Department’s first Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration Program (ACTD), was approved for production and a block upgrade program. Our other ACTDs, the Outrider Tactical UAV and the Global Hawk and DarkStar High Altitude Endurance (HAE) UAVs, experienced delays but are on track for 1998. Outrider has flown successfully with its new UEL engine.
  • Pioneer continues its operational service and passed the 15,000 flight-hour mark this past July. Detachments both continue their shipborne deployments and support the test, evaluation and demonstration of UAV subsystems and payloads. Readiness has been increased to about 70 percent.
  • The Tactical Control System (TCS), which will provide an interoperable system to enable multiple host systems to interface eventually with all UAVs, has been demonstrated successfully. So has Outrider’s ground station. Predator’s ground station will be procured in a smaller, repackaged version for easier transport and use in the field.
  • Among subsystems, the UAV Common Automated Recovery System (UCARS) was successfully demonstrated by Pioneer, on land and at sea, as a prelude to phased
  • acquisition by both tactical UAVs and Predator. As for the HAE UAVs, DarkStar’s electro-optical (EO) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors and Global Hawk’s radar sensor have been flown successfully on testbed aircraft.
  • The Air Force has activated both its UAV Battlelab (at Eglin AFB, FL) and the 15th Reconnaissance Squadron (RS) (like the 11th RS, near Nellis AFB, NV). The UAV Battlelab, like the other Services’ battle labs, is exploring UAV contributions to both Service and joint missions. The 15th RS was established two years early to be fully prepared for Predator’s fielding in quantity.
  • The Joint Requirements Oversight Council’s UAV Special Studies Group (JROC UAV SSG) has continued its prioritization of payloads by mission, in conjunction with the Services and operational Commanders-in-Chief (CINCs), for Outrider, Predator, Global Hawk, and DarkStar. This will rationalize UAV payload requirements across systems and missions, as a warfighter’s guide for acquisition planning.
  • The Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Joint Warfighting Capability Assessment (JWCA) process has developed UAV concepts and identified UAV contributions to JV 2010. In further support, the DARO Architecture Development Team (DADT) has developed an Objective Architecture for the year 2010, together with a force migration roadmap and investment strategy to achieve it. Our Communications Systems Analysis provided air and space communications needs to support airborne reconnaissance and complement space-based intelligence systems.
  • Finally, resolution of several program and management issues with Congress and within the Department strengthened our overall approach to UAV acquisition while reaffirming the importance of a family of UAV capabilities to meet the needs of 21st century warfighters.

    • In summary, FY 1997 has been a transition year. The UAV community has persevered both in meeting acquisition challenges and in integrating projected UAV capabilities into military operations wherever useful. Our challenge for the near future will be to prove and build enough UAV systems to meet this expanding demand while ensuring their operational fit into current force structures and C4ISR functions. Working together, we have the opportunity to create a safer, more prosperous tomorrow for ourselves and our allies. I thank you for your continuing support, and look forward to the challenges of 1998.

    Maj Gen Kenneth R. Israel, USAF
    Director, Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office





     "There always comes a moment when a door opens and lets the future in."

    Graham Green

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    "You can take the example of [retired Chief of Staff] General Fogleman's vision to 'find, fix, target, track, and engage anything of significance on the face of the earth' as we enter the next decade...Some of that you will do from airborne platforms, some of it from space platforms, and some of it will migrate from one to the other. Some of it will always be best done with a combination of air and space."

    Gen John Jumper

    USAF
    27 Oct 97
    (nominated for COMUSAFE)