UAVs have democratised the employment of airpower, much like the shoulder fired missiles had in earlier times. UAVs are relatively easy to procure, operate and can be used by nation-states as well as by non state actors. These have uses in conventional as well as asymmetric warfare. This being so, their deployment will increase because besides lower acquisition and operating costs, the necessary technologies to make UAVs viable in the fully autonomous mode, in terms of composite materials, computing speeds, strong artificial intelligence, microprocessors, digital flight controls, advancements in communication data link technologies, broadband satellite communications and navigation, electronic warfare, sophisticated infra-red/ electro-optical/ sensitive electronic emission detecting sensors, and AESA radars are now readily available, worldwide.
Tyler Rogoway has in his article, published on June 9, 2016, brought out many of the major advantages of employing UCAVs. The salient advantages are suitably para phrased, and listed as follows.
Flexibility in terms of sensors, communications hardware, weapon payloads, roles, etc on the same airframe, as the UCAVs can be designed to be of modular construction, with open and interchangeable plug and play architecture. When operating as a swarm, each UCAV can be configured differently, so as to optimally meet the mission requirements and objectives. Also, UCAVs could be operated in different modes from a tied - man-in-the-loop, to semi autonomous, to fully autonomous, depending on the mission. The loyal wingman concept, which was unveiled by HAL at Aero India 2021, would fall under the semi autonomous mode of operations, where-in the target allocation and engagement directions will be with the manned aircraft weapon system operator; once the target has been allocated the UAV will operate in an autonomous mode to neutralise the target, as per pre-defined parameters.
Greater range and loiter time. Low observable features, EW capability, lighter weight, higher fuel carried, and efficiencies due size, speed, engine, etc would permit UCAVs to operate much longer than manned aircraft in areas of interest. This would automatically lead to enhanced ISTAR capabilities.
Much faster production and induction. UCAVs do not need to meet the conventional military standards for ruggedness and reliability, as UCAVs would be considered expendable, in certain cases; these do not need prolonged testing, or have to be built to be able to withstand a certain airframe life. Training requirements of pilots and other associated crew is eliminated to a large extent. All of this leads to lower acquisition and operating costs.
Simpler manufacturing processes. This flows from the above paragraph.
Ideal for operating in DDD environment. Can be gainfully employed in dirty (NBC), dull (boring, long range), or deadly (networked AD) environment, as no human, with all his limitations, is involved in the operating environment.
War wastage replacements would be relatively easy. Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India would prove to be a boon for this sector, which should see a exponential growth in the years to come, due to increasing usage of UAVs in both military and non-military applications.
No pilots needed. Every country makes a huge investment in its pilots in terms of training costs, time, skills, infrastructure, manpower, currency, fuel, etc. The use of UCAV leads to substantial saving of physical and human infrastructure, time, as well as operational and maintenance costs related to training. A UAV works on algorithms and sensors, and does not need to hone flying skills, through extensive training.
UCAVs can be rapidly tailored to meet latest battle scenarios. The design and procurement process with enhanced/ modified features, based on latest intelligence or experience gained can be easily configured on the UCAV.
Swarm of UCAVs may prove to be more effective against deadly targets. A swarm of networked UCAVs will have a brain that functions and communicates much faster than a human being (at microprocessor speeds) and thus may be more effective in countering defences in a dense, networked threat environment. Advanced swarm tactics could be employed to act as decoy, degrade, suppress, and destroy the enemy’s assets. The loss of one UCAV in a swarm can be effectively made up by the other members, as the networked swarm works with a collective brain.
UCAVs are capable of executing all Airpower roles. Air to Ground/ Surface, as well as Air to Air roles. The conflicts in Syria, Libya and the most recent and widely talked about - Nagorno Karabakh have demonstrated that when properly employed, UCAVs can be game changers. Air to Air is a frontier that has not yet been practically fully conquered, but with the right push this too can be accomplished by UCAVs? Elon Musk has already made a provocative comment that the manned “fighter jet era has passed”. I do feel that this statement may be pre-mature. It is my considered opinion that manned fighters and UAVs will need to co-exist for over a decade, maybe longer. Having been a fighter pilot myself, I feel that the science of air combat may be readily amenable to machine learning, but will the art of air combat be equally amenable; art that is learnt through personal experience, through countless high risk sorties of sweat, high-g, elevated heart beats, thrill, briefs and debriefs, etc? Only time will tell.
Software can be standardised, enhanced across the entire fleet with experience gained, leveraged on newer platforms, etc. Unlike humans, most software can be upgraded for the same platform, or downloaded to another platform instantly. Think Windows operating systems, its various versions, and numerous applications that operate on it. Windows is the operating platform, which is common across platforms on which other applications for the sensors, weapons, etc can facilitate operations.
Can you think of any other advantages of the UAV over manned aircraft? Do you think that UAVs can replace manned aircraft in the very near future?
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