UNINHABITED
Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have enormous potential to complement the
ADF’s existing manned platforms and surveillance capabilities,
according to Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Angus Houston.
AIRMSHL Houston told the UAV Asia Pacific 2003 Conference in Melbourne
last month that “there is little doubt that characteristics
of UAVs like Global Hawk provide us with a potentially highly
capable and complementary wide area surveillance capability”.
“We need to be thinking and selling UAVs as an adjunct, not
a replacement, for these capabilities, understanding that we will
need to balance our investment accordingly,” he said.
The long-range Global Hawk, developed by the US Defense Department,
deployed to Australia for tests in 2001 as part of the ADF’s
Defence Capability Plan.
AIRMSHL Houston said the Global Hawk program would be incorporated
into Air 7000, the project looking at future maritime and patrol
initiatives. And Aerospace Development would this year develop
a UAV “roadmap” for the ADF to compare and contrast
“the spectrum of UAVs and other capabilities”.
“Air 7000 Phase 1 will explore UAV capabilities to supplement
a manned aircraft to be delivered under Phase 2,” AIRMSHL
Houston said.
AIRMSHL Houston said an integrated crewed and UAV maritime patrol
and response squadron would “exploit common infrastructure
and operational skill sets”.
“For sensor operators and analysts, their office might be
the back end of a manned aircraft one day, or the ground control
segment for Global Hawk the next day,” he said.
It was important to provide opportunities for Air Force personnel
to “experiment and innovate”.
“We want an environment that encourages creativity and allows
new ideas and concepts to flourish. The key is to adapt the technology
to the people,” AIRMSHL Houston said.
He said the efficient and effective application of UAV technology
would require mindset changes, which would be brought about by
education and opportunities.
“While the key tenets of military doctrine are unlikely to
change, the emphasis that is placed on some roles, missions and
tasks will need to be re-evaluated,” he said.
The contribution of US-operated UAVs in the war on terrorism had
demonstrated “the need for real-time information is now critical
to decision-makers engaged in manoeuvre warfare”.
“UAVs are and will continue to be at the forefront of this
information revolution and will force us to rethink many of our
current paradigms. We can no longer afford to be developing our
doctrine after the technologies have been introduced into service
and we must ensure that our doctrine is forward looking and not
in lag,” he said.
“I look forward with great interest to the evolution of UAV
systems and the ongoing debate for people in the loop.
“While technology will be a key determinant, it will only
be through an understanding and harmonising of the key elements
of capability – people, organisation and doctrine –
that the full potential and transformational capabilities of UAVs
… will be achieved.”
