The Air Force continues to "lose" drones in an autonomous accident, just as their demand on the battlefield is constantly growing. In a new report published thanks to Freedom of Information Act, a dark side of the US UAV component emerges.
That drones suffered from reliability problems is now a fact. Despite this, their ability to carry out air strikes is considered an essential component in every operating context.
In the 2014, Predator and Reaper flew for 369.913 hours, six times what was recorded in the 2006, according to official Air Force statistics. The problems related to reliability however remain. Only in the year just ended did the Air Force lose twenty drones.
It is considered the annus horribilis of remote piloted systems. Ten Reaper have been lost due to a faulty electric generator. Although the problem is known, the Pentagon has not yet managed to solve the inconvenience it causes blackouts in the main system of Reapers.
Obviously we are talking about the use of drones in missions not covered by military secrecy. The same incidents are well guarded by the Pentagon, reluctant to issue data on one of its most used weapons. The Air Force uses its fleet of drones in anti-terrorist operations in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya, Mali and Cameroon (just to name a few theaters).
Within the next five years the Air Force will become the largest UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) fighting force on the planet. The new three-billion-dollar program (Congress is expected to be approved) has been defined as essential to guarantee the presence of the United States in all present and future theaters of crisis in the world. A force, the current one, considered to be undersized in terms of available UAVs and pilots. The way drones are used by the US has also changed. In Iraq as in Syria, armed UAVs fly mainly in mission profiles that require highly specialized pilots in the same way as those flying fighters.
To the current fleet composed of 175 Reaper and 150 Predator, the US intends to add more 75 "Reapers". The program foresees a new fleet divided on well 17 squadrons (compared to the current eight) and additional personnel, equal to 3500 more units, between pilots and sensor operators. In the 2015, the Air Force lost as many as ten in autonomous accidents Predator. It is the highest accident rate since the 2011. We repeat that these figures do not take into account undercover operations. In fact, there would be five others Predator precipitated in areas of the planet where, in theory, there should be no US redeployment.
The only killing confirmed by the Air Force goes back to the 17 last March, when a Predator it was shot down by Syrian air defenses near Latakia.
In detail, the Air Force lost four drones in the Horn of Africa, near an American military base in Djibouti. Three in Iraq and ten in Kuwait, Turkey, Syria and Libya. At least three other incidents, although confirmed by the Air Force, took place in secret locations.
The army fleet has also suffered heavy losses. In the 2015 the US Army has lost four Gray Eagle: three in Afghanistan and one in Iraq.
Finally, maximum secrecy for the operations of the CIA that manages its own fleet for secret operations from unknown locations. In the year just ended, the CIA would have lost at least eight Reaper. In total, half of the 269 Predator purchased by the Air Force have been lost or severely damaged in accidents. The Aeronautics expects to close the line Predator (still in service 140 drones of General Atomics) and gradually replace it with the Reaper. The latter, however, continues to highlight electrical problems.
The main problem would have been identified in the main generator that powers the drone. For reasons that "remain unclear" it tends to go out. Emergency batteries ensure an hour of flight, which is why any kind of malfunction, if it occurs in full enemy territory, could prove fatal. In that case there is no other solution than to crash the drone. Unlike most aircraft, the Reaper does not have a backup power system.
Called an "design oversight", the Pentagon has ordered all the futures Reaper are equipped with an electrical system of backup permanent. The problem, if anything, is another: 175 is in service Reaper without such support device.
(photo: US DoD)
