UAV Agreement Raises Questions

Aviation Week and Space Technology ^ | 6/6/2010 | Amy Butlet

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More questions than answers seem to be arising from the U.S. Navy/Air Force Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for “coordination of synergy” efforts on their respective high-altitude reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Signed June 12 by the services’ chiefs of staff, the goal is to produce operational and financial efficiencies in the Global Hawk and Broad Area Maritime Surveillance programs, both of which are in development (though the USAF Global Hawk has had the advantage of a head start of several years on its younger cousin).

Shared basing, maintenance, command and control, training, logistics and data exploitation are areas that could be ripe for efficiencies, says Lt. Gen David Deptula, Air Force deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance .

For example, the two systems will be collocated at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, a move which has long been expected to provide access to the European theater and, possibly, the Middle East. A likely next step is collocation in Guam. Already, early models of Global Hawks and a Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration aircraft are operating out of Al Dhafra, United Arab Emirates. The Navy aircraft is supporting intelligence collection in the Arabian Gulf and was recently approved to continue working there for another year, says Vice Adm. Jack Dorsett, deputy chief of naval operations for information dominance.

Also, a single pilot and maintenance training program is being established at Beale AFB, Calif., for both fleets.

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

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