Medium-range UAV: a success

Walter E. Hamilton

doi:10.1117/12.279079

21 November 1997 Medium-range UAV: a success

Walter E. Hamilton

Proceedings Volume 3128, Airborne Reconnaissance XXI; (1997) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.279079
Event: Optical Science, Engineering and Instrumentation '97, 1997, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

Twenty years ago the United States was in the midst of the cold war with the Warsaw Pact as our most formidable and likely enemy. They had three times as many tanks, artillery pieces, and armored personnel carriers as us. Since we could not match them in numbers the NATO forces and the US Department of Defense strategists devised what former Secretary ofDefense William Perry called an "Offset Strategy." This was simply to use our superior technology to offset their greater numbers. The technology that evolved was a combination ofprecision guided munitions, stealth, and intelligence and reconnaissance gathering capabilities. Secretary Peny called it the Reconnaissance Strike Force. We never had to use the offset strategy because the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact dissolved. However, along came Desert Storm. Instead of facing an opponent having superior numbers as the Warsaw Pact forces had the Coalition Forces of Desert Storm faced essentially equal numbers of the same equipments that we had designed our systems against. Desert Storm demonstrated that in such a conflict our superior technology would give us dominance. Today, Force Dominance is the buzz phrase that dictates much of our defense planning. We want to win decisively and dominate a conflict. To do this we need to excel in three things. One, we need to know what's happening. Situational awareness is the goal of the battle commander. Whoever knows first what his opponent is doing will usually win. This is the role of the intelligence and reconnaissance arm of the Reconnaissance Strike Force. Second, the commander needs to get his weapons into position to use them effectively. This is where stealth in aircraft becomes vital. And thirdly, the weapons themselves need the accuracy to hit the their targets.

Citation Download Citation

Walter E. Hamilton "Medium-range UAV: a success", Proc. SPIE 3128, Airborne Reconnaissance XXI, (21 November 1997); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.279079

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KEYWORDS

Unmanned aerial vehicles

Reconnaissance

Composites

Navigation systems

Control systems

Cameras

Global Positioning System

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