The technology of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) being on the brink of “explosive” growth is what most interests the Air Force, its top officer said Wednesday.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said once commercial businesses start using UAVs more often than manned aircraft for freight delivery is when he expects the technology to grow by leaps and bounds.
“When we do that, the ability to move things with remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) will start to explode,” Welsh told a National Press Club audience in downtown Washington. “That will change the game in the RPA business.”
Welsh said as a service founded on technology, it is critically important for the Air Force to stay on the cutting edge of emerging technologies such as unmanned aircraft. The service uses UAVs for intelligence collection in 97 or 98 percent of its unmanned missions, Welsh said. As federal regulation regarding UAV use in national airspace gets ironed out, Welsh said its important for the Air Force to be ready to take advantage of growing technology.
“This industry is going to grow, (and) as the industry grows, it’s important for the Air Force to be the leading edge of the technology,” Welsh said. “That’s what interests us most about RPA future.”
Welsh said UAVs comprise about 10 percent of the Air Force’s aircraft, a rate, he said, won’t dramatically change in the near future because UAV sensors can’t truly replicate the human brain. The rapid growth of Air Force use of UAVs has come during wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that featured unprotected airspace. Welsh said because the service simply doesn’t have a platform to fly into a battle space and determine “in about two seconds” what’s occurring, it will have manned aircraft.
“Until we have that sensor…we should look at how do we best use unmanned capability in ways…that has the most effect,” Welsh said.
The Air Force predominantly uses MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1 Predators, along with the Global Hawk line of UAVs, for its unmanned missions. The Reaper is larger, more powerful and more heavily armed than the Predator. Predators and Reapers are manufactured by General Atomics while Northrop Grumman [NOC] develops Global Hawks.