A new report issued by the US Congress has shown that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) account for more than one third of all the military aircraft in the US Air Force operative fleet.
The report written by the Congressional
Research Service has noted that the US Department of Defense now owns
10,767 manned planes and 7,494 unmanned ones, independent research and
media group Global Research reported on Thursday. The unmanned
aerial vehicles, therefore, comprise 31 percent of all the military
aircraft that the United States uses, the report said.
Furthermore, the US Armed Forces flies a fleet of 5,346 hand-launched RQ-11 Raven drones -- by far the biggest drone armada in the US Air Force. The 1.9-kilogram (4.2-pound) aircraft is simply tossed into the air, with its battery-operated propeller spinning for flights of up to 80 minutes at a speed of 45 kilometers an hour (30 mph). It transmits color video or infrared imagery to the operator's laptop, which could be positioned up to 15 kilometers (nine miles) away.
Meanwhile, the US Army owns 161 Predator and Reaper drones.
The United States Air Force has used Predator as its primary UAV for aggressive operations since 1995. The drone has been used over Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bosnia, Serbia, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, and Somalia.
The Reaper is a larger and more capable upgraded version of the earlier Predator and is the first hunter-killer drone designed for long-endurance, high-altitude spying operations.
38 Predators and Reapers have crashed in Iraq and Afghanistan thus far.
On December 4, 2011, the Iranian military's electronic warfare unit announced that Iran had downed with minimal damage a US RQ-170 Sentinel stealth aircraft, which had been flying over the northeastern Iranian city of Kashmar.
Even though manned aircraft still get 92 percent of the Pentagon's aircraft procurement money, the US military has spent USD 26 billion on drones since 2001, the congressional report pointed out.
It also highlighted that the US drone fleet is an embryonic one, which is to grow in size and be tasked with more complicated missions.
The US Navy is developing a next-generation drone that can take off and land from an aircraft carrier.
The report finds that future missions include 'stand-off jamming' of enemy electronics and 'psychological operations, such as dropping leaflets' over an 'adversary' population.
The US Air Force even hopes that a 'super/hyper-sonic' drone comes out by 2034.
Furthermore, the US Armed Forces flies a fleet of 5,346 hand-launched RQ-11 Raven drones -- by far the biggest drone armada in the US Air Force. The 1.9-kilogram (4.2-pound) aircraft is simply tossed into the air, with its battery-operated propeller spinning for flights of up to 80 minutes at a speed of 45 kilometers an hour (30 mph). It transmits color video or infrared imagery to the operator's laptop, which could be positioned up to 15 kilometers (nine miles) away.
Meanwhile, the US Army owns 161 Predator and Reaper drones.
The United States Air Force has used Predator as its primary UAV for aggressive operations since 1995. The drone has been used over Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bosnia, Serbia, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, and Somalia.
The Reaper is a larger and more capable upgraded version of the earlier Predator and is the first hunter-killer drone designed for long-endurance, high-altitude spying operations.
38 Predators and Reapers have crashed in Iraq and Afghanistan thus far.
On December 4, 2011, the Iranian military's electronic warfare unit announced that Iran had downed with minimal damage a US RQ-170 Sentinel stealth aircraft, which had been flying over the northeastern Iranian city of Kashmar.
Even though manned aircraft still get 92 percent of the Pentagon's aircraft procurement money, the US military has spent USD 26 billion on drones since 2001, the congressional report pointed out.
It also highlighted that the US drone fleet is an embryonic one, which is to grow in size and be tasked with more complicated missions.
The US Navy is developing a next-generation drone that can take off and land from an aircraft carrier.
The report finds that future missions include 'stand-off jamming' of enemy electronics and 'psychological operations, such as dropping leaflets' over an 'adversary' population.
The US Air Force even hopes that a 'super/hyper-sonic' drone comes out by 2034.
Press TV
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