Potential of British Military UAVs Undermined: MPs
The Commons Defence Committee – a group of British MPs – has highlighted in a new report how personnel shortages are undermining the ability of the UAVs in British military service to unleash their full potential.
UAVS – Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – are in use over Afghanistan and Iraq. The craft, said the report, have “battle-winning” capabilities, but improvements are needed in the processing of the data they acquire while flying over the battlefield.
The report added that the MoD’s appreciation of the effectiveness of UAVs has been “slow” in happening.
UAVs Used by British Military
Three different UAVs are presently in British military service, named ‘Desert Hawk’, ‘Reaper’ and ‘Hermes 450’.
While three Reapers were in service earlier this year, the fleet has now been reduced to two following a recent crash in Afghanistan. The two remaining Reapers are controlled by operators in the United States, and their missions include the location of militant forces or of explosive devices.
In contrast, the Desert Hawk and Hermes 450 are controlled in situ.
UAV Operators
The committee report wrote that, at the beginning of this year, the British Army’s contingent of UAV pilots was 48 per cent below what it should have been. Information evaluators, meanwhile, were 18 per cent below strength.
It urged the MoD to “...address the manning deficits in these areas in order to gain the maximum value from its current and future UAV systems [e.g. ‘Watchkeeper’]".
Data Acquisition, Transmission
An additional concern detailed was the current methods used to assess and transmit the data acquired by the UAVs.
"The MoD was perhaps slow to appreciate the potential of UAVs, but now recognises the important contribution that they can make", James Arbuthnot – chairman of the committee – commented.
He added: "The MoD must push forward with its planned improvements so that our Armed Forces can continue to achieve information superiority over the enemy."
In the opinion of Bob Ainsworth, Armed Forces Minister, unmanned aerial vehicles had shown themselves to be “invaluable.”
"They have a crucial role to play in future operations and we will continue to invest in them", Mr Ainsworth stated.
Source – Armed Forces International’s Aviation Expert
Recent related News Items:
British Military UAVs -
RAF Destroyed Reaper UAV that Crashed in Afghanistan
27 Desert Hawk UAVs Lost over Afghanistan: MoD
Other Recent British Military Reports -
"Pressure" on British Military Personnel: Report
Committee Report: UK Armed Forces Overstretched
Further Resources:
Articles -
Unmanned Reconnaissance Vehicles
Products and Services -
Companies providing Airborne Cameras
Companies providing Airborne Data Acquisition and Recording System
Companies providing Airborne Video Recording
Companies providing Image processing
Companies providing Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR)
Companies providing Surveillance
Companies providing Surveillance Systems and Equipment
