USAF looks for more discriminating UAVs

Published 22 June 2009

The increased use of UAVs in Pakistan has also increased the number of civilians being killed in attacks on insurgents; one of the main reasons is the fact that the least powerful munition they fire is Hellfire missiles, which are intended to puncture the tough armor of tanks; USAF plans to build smaller, even microscopic drones with smaller weapons that can hunt in swarms and engage targets in the close quarters of urban battlefields

There has been widespread criticism of the use of UAVs to hunt down militants in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan. In response, the U.S. Air Force has invested in new UAVs that will be smaller, will hunt in packs, and will kill more discriminately, reports Esquire.com after viewing a 78-page briefing from the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Perhaps the most significant concept in the briefing is a UAV called Suburb Warrior, which would carry a new kind of smaller, precision-guided missile. Another project, called Sniper, is a targeting system that can lock on to multiple targets, allowing a single drone pilot to coordinate the attacks of a squadron of robots - or a single UAV to hit a group of enemies. Picking through the dozens of systems in this briefing, many of which will be flight-tested within five years, there’s a clear set of goals: build smaller, even microscopic drones with smaller weapons that can hunt in swarms and engage targets in the close quarters of urban battlefields. And hunt as soon as possible.

Esquire.com’s Erik Sofge writes that the USAF is doing so much research and development on new UAVs because recent drone strikes showed that drones can kill more than their intended victims.  One of the main reasons is the fact that the least powerful munition they fire is Hellfire missiles, which are intended to puncture the tough armor of tanks.

The USAF therefore is interested in fielding mini-drones with mini-missiles for the critical mission of all counterinsurgency, hearts and minds.

Instead of dropping Hellfires or a 500-pound bomb on an insurgent hideout, one or more Suburb Warriors could fire a volley of mini-missiles at confirmed targets, without vaporizing the wedding reception next door.