Dr Carl Rhodes
Introduction
United States Air Force (USAF) Predator operations in the Balkans during the late 1990s demonstrated that uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) have great utility on the modern battlefield. The MQ-1 Predator was a remotely piloted vehicle that was initially used solely in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations but was equipped from 2001 with Hellfire missiles which allowed it to fly armed hunter-killer missions. Over the next decade, Predator and its successor, the MQ-9 Reaper, became essential tools in a range of US military operations including counterterrorism and counterinsurgency. Indeed this capability would log a total of 2 million combat flight hours by 2013.[i] The public’s imagination was captured by full-motion videos of successful strikes carried out and recorded by Predators, and this publicity brought uncrewed aircraft into wider social discourse.
While many people were unfamiliar with UAS prior to the Predator’s introduction, the employment of UAS in combat can be traced all the way back to 1849 with Austria’s use of uncrewed balloons to deliver explosives against Venice.[ii] In terms of powered flight, uncrewed target aircraft and cruise missiles were developed during the First World War[iii] and the USAF made significant use of UAS (over 3,500 combat sorties) in reconnaissance missions during the Vietnam War.[iv] One important early purpose served by uncrewed aircraft was to act as a drone target as part of training and technology development. For example, Australia’s series of Jindivik jet-propelled target planes were first employed in 1952 as part of guided missile tests.[v]
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