Soldiers need the tactical advantages their unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) provide to be integrated into their units, so they aren't forced to endure lengthy approval chains that can cost lives, according to UAS experts.

"Most of the living and dying is going on in squad, platoon and company level in this fight. So you have to give those Soldiers what they need, when they need it. And they need it all the time," said Glenn A. Rizzi, deputy director and senior technical advisor of the U.S. Army UAS Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, AL.

Rizzi spoke during the AUSA’sArmy Aviation Symposium and Exposition, He said approval chains for unmanned aerial vehicle support can be lengthy, taking time that tactical units on the ground and in the fight cannot afford.

"They don't have time, when they need UAS support, to ... carry it up to the Joint Force Air Component Commander, ask for a Predator, and then have it go through that decision loop and then have it repositioned," Rizzi said. "They need it there, and they need it there 24/7."

What Soldiers need, Rizzi said, is UAS support that is built into their combat units -- unmanned aerial systems owned by the Army, flown by the Army, to provide support to the Army's ground units -- who are actually in the fight -- when they need it. "You need organic systems," he said.

Col. Christopher Carlile, director, U.S. Army UAS Center of Excellence, said Army UASs have flown some one million combat hours during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Army is now training some 2,000 UAS operators, maintainers and instructor pilots a year. The colonel said Army UAS aviation is changing the way the Army does business.

"The way that infantryman, up until now, found out what was on the back side of that building was when he had fire coming from it," Carlile said. Now, systems like the Raven give Soldiers the ability to see where they couldn't see before.

The transition of drones from the military world to the civil sector is the subject of an Aviation Today webinar entitled How to Gain from the UAV Boom scheduled for Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (ET).

Hear from these experts:

Larry Dickerson
Analyst
Forecast International

Ron Stearns
Research Director & Partner
G2 Solutions

Richard Whittle
Contributing Editor
Rotor & Wing
magazine

Ramon Lopez
Editor-in-chief
Air Safety Week


Moderator:
John Persinos
Publisher/Editorial Director
Aviation Today.

Military planners are putting a premium on nimble weapons designed to fight terrorism. That means big bucks in 2010 and beyond for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The market for UAVs is worth an estimated $17.9 billion over the next 10 years. This figure includes production of all air vehicles, ground control equipment, and payloads through 2018.

Aviation Today has put together a webinar to examine the latest trends, technologies and opportunities in UAVs.

During the webinar, you'll learn which companies stand to benefit most from this market's fast growth. This webinar will be of keen interest for anyone in the aviation industry who's involved in surveillance, homeland security, airframe manufacturing, sensors, avionics and systems integration.

You'll learn:

    •    Which UAV programs emerge as the biggest winners in the Pentagon's 2010 military budget of $680 billion?
   
    •    How will the Pentagon's budgetary largesse this year trickle down to various avionics sub-contractors in the UAV market – and how can other avionics companies position themselves for money-making opportunities?
       
    •    What are the latest innovations in sensor technologies and which sensor makers stand to reap the biggest benefits?
   
    •    What major programs of record will drive platform growth through 2019, as well as how announced but not-awarded competitions will change this competitive landscape.
       
    •    The companies that stand to benefit most, and why. A review of the latest initiatives from the major players: Northrop Grumman, General Atomics, AAI, IAI, Honeywell, Raytheon, Rockwell Collins, and others.
       
    •    …and lots more!

Register here.

video.webcasts.com/events/pmny001/viewer/index.jsp

Ramon Lopez also serves as editor-in-chief of Air Safety Week; he has been covering air safety for more than three decades (rlopez@accessintel.com).

www.aviationtoday.com/ramon_lopez_bio.html