Outside View: UAV options

By ILYA KRAMNIK
UPI Outside View Commentator
MOSSCOW, Russia, April 25 (UPI) -- An Israeli-made Hermes-450 unmanned aerial vehicle owned by the former Soviet republic of Georgia was shot down over Abkhazia on April 21, aggravating regional tensions.

While politicians try to sort the issue out, it is easy to forget the technical aspects of the problem, but they deserve some attention.

Unmanned aerial vehicles have long been an exotic weapons system that only rich nations could afford. But the situation has changed, and they are becoming more widespread. The Third World considers them the only alternative to conventional aircraft requiring expensive pilot-training programs and infrastructure.

UAVs are smaller, cheaper and easier to maintain, requiring only a rudimentary infrastructure. As a rule, all the required UAV equipment is transported in one or two vehicles. However, their specifications and performance are no match for conventional aircraft.

UAVs can even operate from unimproved airfields unable to accommodate military planes flying high-risk reconnaissance missions.

Because of these and other factors, UAV demand has skyrocketed. The most advanced nations, such as the United States, Japan, Russia, West European countries and Israel, are developing and manufacturing them.

China, India, Iran, South Africa and some other countries are making the more cumbersome UAVs similar to those flown by students in Soviet times.

Their UAVs are either hand-launched or operate from small trucks, can fly at 60-120 miles per hour and can carry video cameras, direction finders, radio equipment and other systems weighing up to several pounds.

They fly tactical reconnaissance missions, enhancing the potential of ground forces, including small and poorly armed units.

The hard-to-detect medium-size UAVs weighing up to several hundred pounds, such as the ill-fated Hermes-450, feature composite materials and have a longer flying time.

Their Web cameras are used by long-range artillery spotters and for other combat missions.

Large-size UAVs, such as the U.S. Global Hawk, are fitted with expensive optronic systems and radars, and can effectively replace more costly reconnaissance planes. The low-visibility UAVs can stay in the air for several dozen hours and are an essential element in every major combat operation.

The Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle carrying guided missiles is the ultimate UAV version that detects and destroys land-mobile targets on the battlefield and switches positions without waiting for a retaliatory enemy strike.

However, UCAVs will be used on a limited scale for a long time because conventional aircraft are far more accurate.

The industrial world prefers the larger and more sophisticated UAVs, while all other countries are actively buying more primitive versions. Children in Georgia and Abkhazia stopped making model airplanes long ago, but their fathers like to play with the more expensive and dangerous toys, which are completely different from the planes of their childhood.

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(Ilya Kramnik is a political commentator for RIA Novosti. This article is reprinted by permission of RIA Novosti.)

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(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)