Military Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and the Department of Defense Report to Congress on Addressing Challenges for Unmanned Aircraft Systems

This two-part compilation provides up-to-date information about military unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

Department of Defense Report to Congress on Addressing Challenges for Unmanned Aircraft Systems - In lieu of creating an executive agent for UAS, the Deputy Secretary of Defense (DepSecDef) directed the formation of a UAS Task Force (TF).The TF was directed to identify to the Deputy Advisory Working Group (DAWG) and, where appropriate, assign lead organizations for issues related to the acquisition and management of UAS including interoperability, civil airspace integration, frequency spectrum and bandwidth utilization, ground stations, and airframe payload and sensor management.

U.S. Unmanned Aerial Systems - Unmanned aerial systems comprise a rapidly growing portion of the military budget, and have been a long-term interest of Congress. At times, Congress has encouraged the development of such systems; in other instances, it has attempted to rein in or better organize the Department of Defense's efforts. Unmanned aircraft are commonly called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and when combined with ground control stations and data links, form UAS, or unmanned aerial systems. Background * Why Does the Military Want UAS? * What Missions Do UAS Currently Perform? * Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance * Strike * What Other Missions Might UAS Undertake in the Future? * Resupply * Combat Search and Rescue * Refueling * Air Combat * Why Are There So Many Different UAS? * Does the Department of Defense Have an Integrated UAS Development Policy? * UAS Management Issues * Cost Management Issues * Organizational Management Issues * UAS and Investment Priorities * Interoperability * Reliability/Safety * Force Multiplication/Autonomy * Engine Systems * Duplication of Capability * Other Potential Missions * The Issue of Airspace * Recruitment and Retention * Industrial Base Considerations * Congressional Considerations * Funding * Trade-Offs * Measures of Effectiveness * Pace of Effort * Management * Operators * R&D Priorities * Development Facilities * Other Issues * In Summation * Current Major DOD UAS Programs * MQ-1 Predator * MQ-1C Grey Eagle * MQ-9 Reaper * RQ-4 Global Hawk * BAMS * MQ-8B Fire Scout * FIRE-X/MQ-8C * RQ-170 Sentinel * Other Current UAS Programs * RQ-5A Hunter/MQ-5B Hunter II * RQ-7 Shadow * "Small UAVs" * RQ-14 Dragon Eye * FQM-151 Pointer * RQ-11 Raven * ScanEagle * Small Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (STUAS) * Future UAS * Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) * X-47B * Phantom Ray * Avenger/Sea Avenger * High Altitude Long Endurance Systems * Phantom Eye * Orion * Global Observer * Airships