The U.S. Air Force is reintroducing its stealthy RQ-170 to operations in Afghanistan, and Israel is using its strategic-range UAVs to observe, target and strike smugglers in the Red Sea-two more indications that technologically advanced militaries are relying increasingly on missions flown by unmanned aircraft.
The latest twist is that the U.S.’s RQ-170 Sentinel flying wing either has returned or is returning to Afghanistan with a full-motion video capability that ground commanders have been demanding as part of the continuing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) buildup in the country.
What’s not clear is whether the Sentinel’s stealth enables the conduct ofunobserved surveillance missions near or over the borders with Iran and Pakistan. Air Force officials describe the RQ-170 as a “stealthy, unmanned aircraft system to provide reconnaissance and surveillance support to forward-deployed combat forces.”
During his final interview on Aug. 2 as Air Force intelligence chief, Lt. Gen. Dave Deptula said in reply to a question about the continuing need for secrecy regarding the RQ-170: “I can’t tell you, [but] the fact of the matter is that we have a stealthy, remotely piloted aircraft that’s out there.”
As for how the service can field a sizable force of survivable UAVs with a mainstream acquisition program without incurring the punitive costs that have accompanied stealth designs in the past, Deptula explained: “Those kinds of questions are exactly what we’re addressing right now as we develop an initial capabilities document for the next generation of remotely piloted aircraft.
“We can't do business in a serial fashion like we have before. We’re not looking for the next version of the MQ-9 that can fly faster and go higher. Can we physically change the characteristics of an aircraft to adapt it to different roles by making it more survivable through shape and treatments? Or can we change its function from strike platform one day to cargo delivery the next? I think that’s one way to crack the fiscal constraint nut,” he added.
The second item of note is the use of one of the Israeli air force’s longendurance UAVs-either the Heron, or Heron 2-in cross-border operations against smugglers as part of the continuing effort to intercept weapon shipments in the Red Sea area.
There has been such cargo intended for Hamas and Hezbollah transported by train (via Turkey), aircraft (via Thailand) and ships (via Syria and Egypt), Israeli officials tell AVIATION WEEK. The weapons were from China, Spain, North Korea and Iran.
lsrael Aerospace lndustries’ long-endurance UAVs, including the Heron 2, are involved in monitoring arms smuggling in the Red Sea area.
“That transfer by sea, land and air has enabled Hezbollah to have a strategic capability today [with] rockets and missiles,” says a senior strategic planner for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). “Now there is the Scud that in principle can hit Jordan and Egypt. [A variety of weapons] were transferred to Hezbollah by Syria and Iran via the Qods force. There are several storage sites in Syria that belong to Hezboilah” (see p. 44).
A raid in Sudan against two truck convoys carrying Fajr 5 missiles from Iran's Qods Force used an Israel Aerospace Industries Eitan/Heron 2 as a remote surveillance and targeting platform, while Elbit Hermes 450 UAVs served as the missile-firing platforms, says a May 29, 2009, report in The Times of London.
Some U.S.-based analysts disagree on the details of the mission. Theypoint out that the Times articlerefers to a suspected Israeli raid in early 2009.
“The use of Heron [2] as an Israeli air force platform would be problematic because it didn't formally enter IAF service until earlier this year,” said one of the analysts. “Additionally, I haven’t seen any confirmation that the [Heron 2] platform has been armed. It is suspected to be eind capable of being armed, but there is no physical confirmation.
“Eitan could have been used for recce… rolled out before we knew about it, but the Hermes as a weapons carrier just doesn’t make sense when you have the fixed-wing assets involved with all their firepower,” he says.
“Everything I’ve seen has stressed that these raids were done by fixedwing fighters like the F-15I and F-16I. There may have been recce assets in the form of UAVs, but I think the basic Heron 1 would have sufficed for that mission.”
The attacks are seen as a product of frustration at the lack of international controls on missile proliferation.
“The international community has not yet developed a policy or the operational and legal tools to control missile proliferation,” the Israeli official says. “There have been six U.N. resolutions accepted in the last three years, but the legal and operational tools haven't been implemented.”
The Eitan/Heron 2 is operated by 210 Sqdn. at Tel Nof AB, where it shares facilities with some of the aircraft that it supports-F-15I precision strike aircraft.
The Shoval/Heron 1 is flown by 200 Sqdn. at Palmachim AB, which is also home to the Zik/Hermes 450s of 166 Sqdn. The latter UAVs helped to destroy rocket sites in Lebanon that Hezbollah used in 2006 to fire missiles into northern Israel. While Israel does not admit to using UAVs for such missions, it is now working on weapons in the 250-lb. class or larger to beef up their striking power. The new, larger Hermes 900 will soon join 166 Sqdn.
“[There are] arms transfers-we don’t call it smuggling” says the Israeli IDF official. “The issue has become more and more an international and regional problem. It is a crucial element for the future of the Middle East. Iran is trying to establish hegemony [by supporting] radical organizations and their links. The Iranians don’t want a real escalation, but they would iike to raise the level of tension. They don’t want to [fight on] three fronts, but ifthey can close one, they can open another. So Jordan is the main issue, because it is a big buffer for Israel. When the U.S. leaves lraq, the Jordanians say it will be a nightmare for them.”
The Red Sea is notorious as a transit route for insurgent leadership, recruits, money and weapons. Eritrea, for example, acquired the much-feared, Russianmade SA-18 shoulder-fired, anti-aircraft missiles for its military arsenal. The weapons appeared almost immediately in the hands of Somali insurgents, who used one to shoot down a Belarusian contract transport aircraft near Mogadishu. U.S. officials and other analysts now fear that the SA-18 will be smuggled into Iraq and Afghanistan.
Sumber: Aviation Week, August 9, 2010
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