Date: 21
April, 2008
US Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates established a new task force last week to ensure the US Defense Department is doing everything possible to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) assets to support warfighters, the American Press Forces reported today.
The new task force will move the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance issue to the front burner as it explores “more innovative and bold ways to help those whose lives are on the line,” he said.
“For those missions that still require manned missions, we need to think hard about whether we have the right platforms,” he said. Particularly in environments where the United States and its partners have total control of the skies, “low-cost, low-tech alternatives” may provide the basic reconnaissance and close-air support needed, he said.
Gates recalled the introduction of unmanned aerial vehicles in the 1990s, when he was director of central intelligence. “The introduction of UAVs around this time meant far less risk and far more versatile means of gathering data, and other nations like Israel set about using them,” he said. “In 1992, however, the Air Force would not co-fund with CIA a vehicle without a pilot.”
As he called today for out-of-the-box thinking about how the military can operate in the most sensible, affordable way, Gates said it’s time to recognize the role unmanned aerial vehicles play in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions - and how much more they can contribute.
“Unmanned systems cost much less and offer greater loiter time than their manned counterparts, making them ideal for many of today’s tasks,” he said.
He noted a 25-fold increase since 2001, with 5,000 now in the military inventory. “But in my view, we can do - and we should do - more to meet the needs of men and women fighting in the current conflicts while their outcome may still be in doubt.”
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