The Future of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (original) (raw)

Rise of Air Force Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)

LinkedIn Post, 2014

The top priority missions of Air Forces are to achieve air and space superiority and information superiority, and to provide combat support to other services. Air Forces use different assets to accomplish those missions. Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have been becoming valuable and widely used assets for Air Forces since 1960s. This article proposes generations for UAS and describes the most important steps and developments concerning UASs after World War II with considering those UAS generations.

The availability and military use of UAVs

SIPRI literature review on the availability and military use of UAVs for the Policy and Operations Evaluations Department of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs , 2017

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), or drones, are aircraft without an onboard pilot that are remotely controlled by a ground-based operator. This technology has existed for decades, but has attracted growing attention in the past 15 years due to its increased use in armed conflicts by a growing number of states. Furthermore, the technology has developed rapidly over the past 15 years, enabling new uses and presenting new challenges for regulation. This section discusses the state of the technology, maps out the key concerns related to its proliferation and use, and takes stock of the debate on the need for international regulation of armed UA Vs.

An Exhaustive Examination On The Impact Of Aviation Innovation On The Armed Forces

Lusitano Caballero Y Verso, 2024

Over the past century, the introduction of airplanes has completely revolutionized military operations, tactics, and strategy. The purpose of this white paper is to analyze the significant impacts that advancements in aviation have had on the military's effectiveness, the ability to project force, and the capabilities of operations. More precisely, the paper will concentrate on the impacts that these innovations have produced. This article discusses essential topics such as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), stealth technologies, improved propulsion, and sensor integration. The study also demonstrates the substantial impact of these technological developments on the transformation of contemporary warfare.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in US National Security Policy. New Face of War of Terror

The paper deals with the use of unmanned aircraft of the American national security policy. It examines the history of unmanned aviation, its military use, and cost efficiency. It then examines the main obstacles and problems with their use in national security that this technology meets and will meet in the future after a higher level of autonomy is developed. These problems involve legal issues, international and domestic American law, the issue of civilian casualties, the role of the media, and public opinion. The final chapter focuses on the problems of technical, strategic and operational issues. In this section the research paper comes to the first conclusion which claims that the introduction of more autonomous systems to war will radically change its structure and, consequently, standard procedures and strategies. Case studies are included to illustrate how successful the drone strategy is applied in the five countries where the United States leads a war on terror. The research using the theory of the revolution in military affairs concludes that these UAVs pose the greatest challenge in history and it goes well beyond military matters. UAVs in national security affect the understanding of the basic principles of war in relation to the concepts of warrior ethos and just war.

The future of unmanned combat aerial vehicles: An analysis using the Three Horizons framework

Futures, 2021

This article examines the future of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs). As a foresight tool it uses the Three Horizons framework, which helps understand the process of change underway at present in combat aviation as a result of the advances in technology associated with the fourth industrial revolution. According to this framework, the first horizon corresponds to manned combat aviation, the strategic effectiveness of which is beginning to be called into question. The second horizon comprises different strategic innovations currently in progress which can be viewed as support for the first horizon but also as disruptive innovations that may bring about a change in the dominant model. The article then explores a third hypothetical horizon in which UCAVs take centre stage in combat missions and identifies potential drivers of this alternative and disruptive future.

Sharing security in an era of international cooperation: unmanned aerial vehicles and the United States' Air Force

Defense and Security Analysis, 2017

The United States’ Air Force (USAF) has developed and used unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology to monitor and assassinate dangerous terrorists in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen. Currently, there are few countries that possess armed UAV and since the US created much of this technology, the USAF is usually part of the training that automatically accompanies the purchase of its UAVs. The research question this article attempts to answer is, “What is the extent of the United States’ Air Force assistance in the training and proliferation of UAV technology to foreign militaries?”

UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE IN MILITARY OPERATIONS

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) make significant contributions to the war fighting capability of operational forces. The assumption is that piloted, remotely piloted, and autonomous vehicles have advantages and disadvantages in military operations, and that these vary in strategic significance for different levels of conflict. Since it is essential for the U.S. defense establishment to consider the strategic and technological implications of these types of aerial vehicles, this study is devoted to addressing the issues raised by the new generation of aerial vehicles. As technological advances increase the lethality of weapons on the modern battlefield, it is inevitable that UAVs will reduce the risks to humans in combat. If there is a fundamental constraint on the development of UAVs, it is that technology promises to find purely unmanned solutions to combat but cannot deliver on that promise. Political and military authorities should approach with caution the prospect of a world in which automated systems select military targets and employ lethal ordnance.

Synergizing NATO's Growing, Unmanned Aerial Systems Force

Military Technology, 2020

The most important area of growth in the NATO surveillance arsenal has been in the addition of new Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). These pilotless, remotely controlled aircraft are both large and small, armed and unarmed, and provide NATO with a wide range of warfighting tools. The term Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) represents only the aircraft itself, whereas UAS includes the UAV and the systems required to operate, navigate, support and communicate with the UAV. The deployment of UAS in NATO for surveillance, reconnaissance, and combat is accelerating, but employing UAS takes tactics and doctrine. Let us examine how NATO is increasing its capability, and then explore how the Alliance is synergizing its employment of UAS.