The Future of Remotely Piloted Aircraft in Special Operations
Research Report
The Future of Remotely Piloted Aircraft in Special Operations: Methods to Improve AFSOC MQ-9 Effectiveness for Supporting Special Operations
Jordan Kowalski
Copyright Date: Sep. 1, 2017
Published by: Air University Press
Pages: 49
OPEN ACCESS
https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep13853
Table of Contents
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  1. Front Matter
    Front Matter (pp. i-ii)
  2. Table of Contents
    Table of Contents (pp. iii-iv)
  3. List of Illustrations
    List of Illustrations (pp. v-vi)
  4. Foreword
    Foreword (pp. vii-viii)

    It is my great pleasure to present another issue of The Wright Flyer Papers. Through this series, Air Command and Staff College presents a sampling of exemplary research produced by our residence and distancelearning students. This series has long showcased the kind of visionary thinking that drove the aspirations and activities of the earliest aviation pioneers. This year’s selection of essays admirably extends that tradition. As the series title indicates, these papers aim to present cutting-edge, actionable knowledge—research that addresses some of the most complex security and defense challenges facing us today.

    Recently, The Wright Flyer Papers transitioned to...

  5. Preface
    Preface (pp. ix-x)
  6. Abstract
    Abstract (pp. xi-xii)
  7. About the Author
    About the Author (pp. xiii-xiv)
  8. Introduction
    Introduction (pp. 1-2)

    The scenarios described in this report do not detail specific operations but provide examples of plausible missions and issues for the Air Force Special Operations Command’s (AFSOC) General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft (RPA).

    A special operations forces (SOF) team is tasked to hunt for a high-ranking leader of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in central Africa for Operation Threatening Viper. The US military presence in the region is scattered, and the air assets to assist the team in locating the high-value individual (HVI) are sparse. Many of the few information, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft already in...

  9. Background
    Background (pp. 2-9)

    RPAs have proven over the course of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (OFS) in Afghanistan, as well as Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), their capability to provide high fidelity, real-time intelligence and armed reconnaissance to battlefield commanders.¹ The US Air Force Weapons School has written several research papers on how best to improve the tactical employment of the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9. The collective focus of many RPA-related papers has been to clearly define how to solve a tactical problem with a given toolset already established in the weapons system or...

  10. Operational Considerations
    Operational Considerations (pp. 9-20)

    Each AOR generates different requirements for each type of aircraft to enter and operate within the given theater’s airspace. Recent wartime examples of theaters RPA operate within include OFS (formerly OEF) in Afghanistan and OIR (formerly OIF) in Iraq.28 In each theater, a primary enabler of MQ-9 flight has been a permissive environment with respect to antiaircraft systems due to systems limitations in combatting such threats. Afghanistan’s poor integrated air defense system and lack of ability to counter US Air Force aircraft quickly dissolved their formal opposition to US efforts to track down and eliminate al-Qaeda leadership in the country....

  11. Conclusion
    Conclusion (pp. 20-21)

    RPA’s support to SOF entities may be improved through the addition of existing flight technology, improving the communications scheme utilized by RPA systems, providing subject matter experts to the supported units around the globe, and training effectively prior to an operation commencing in accordance with the fourth SOF truth: “Competent special operations forces cannot be created after emergencies occur.”57

    The research within this report answered how best to improve MQ-9s with regard to entering and navigating in national or extranational airspace while also improving mission effectiveness. It is no longer solely AFSOC’s prerogative to see MQ-9 support to SOF teams...

  12. Recommendations
    Recommendations (pp. 21-28)
  13. Abbreviations
    Abbreviations (pp. 29-30)
  14. Bibliography
    Bibliography (pp. 31-32)
  15. Back Matter
    Back Matter (pp. 33-33)