Unmanned combat aerial vehicles and transformation

Joint Force Quarterly, Winter, 2002 by John J. Klein

Applying this thesis, unmanned vehicles are considered transformational if they achieve at least a twofold improvement in cost or capability over manned aircraft. For instance, if UCAVs perform a similar mission for the same price, with twice the endurance as their manned counterparts, they can be considered transformational. In addition, if an unmanned vehicle carries out missions similar to manned aircraft but at half of the cost or less, that could be transformational. An exception occurs when one capability is improved and another is lessened. If a vehicle has twice the endurance as a manned strike aircraft but costs twice as much, this is not transformational since two sequential sorties of the cheaper manned aircraft would provide the same coverage as the longer endurance UCAV. Therefore, improving the performance of unmanned aircraft at any price is not in keeping with the objectives of military transformation.

An exception to quantifying transformation occurs when the novel capability of unmanned vehicles cannot be quantitatively compared to manned aircraft. For example, Dragon Eye is man-portable and uses sensors to accomplish its mission. While there are manned surveillance aircraft with more sophisticated sensors, portability allows this vehicle to provide urban surveillance and operate in a manner manned aircraft cannot; thus it can be considered transformational.

UCAV Attributes

The Navy, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and contractors are designing UCAVs to meet performance specifications based on suppressing enemy air defenses, strike, and ISR missions. Regardless of mission-specific design traits, there are basic capabilities that all naval UCAVs should demonstrate to be operationally viable.

Maintainability and reliability. At a minimum, future vehicles must be readily maintainable and operationally reliable as contemporary manned aircraft. This ensures that they can be repaired and accomplish the missions they were designed to perform. A state-of-the-art unmanned vehicle benefits no one if it is inoperable the majority of the time due to maintenance issues.

Some argue that survivability must be an attribute. While desirable, the ability for UCAVs to survive battle damage should be considered secondary, especially if they have a fractional cost compared to manned aircraft. Designing a vehicle to be highly survivable adds expense and weight; and weight reduces endurance. Also, incorporating inexpensive stealth technology into the design reduces the probability that enemy surface-to-air radar systems will detect vehicles, thus mitigating the need for survivability. Once the technology matures and costs are reduced, minimal combat survivability can be considered acceptable due to the throw-away cost.

Air traffic control standards. UCAVs must be able to operate within the same air traffic control standards as manned aircraft. For the Navy, this means carrier-based vehicles operating within the constraints of the normal operational launch and recovery cycle. Furthermore, carrier-based unmanned vehicles must be able to fly day and night landing patterns within the same tinting and airspace requirements as their manned counterparts. Imposing different rules on UCAVs and manned aircraft reduces carrier operational effectiveness and efficiency. Whether or not an aircraft is manned should be transparent when operating within carrier controlled airspace.