Unblinking eye in the sky
20 Jan 2007
Hezbollah's use of the drone in 2006 is most likely the first time that both warring sides in a conflict have deployed them. Of course, this is pending confirmation that drones may actually have been used closer home - at Kargil, in 1999 - by Indian and Pakistani forces, though in a one-off manner. Despite assertions by various sources, attesting to their use by both sides, the issue is yet to be resolved in the face of denials by the Indian army, as also since there is no clinching evidence on record. It may, however, be kept in mind that the earliest deliveries of UAVs to the Indian armed forces very likely began in 1998, though in small numbers (source: SIPRI report 2005).
The Indian and Pakistani forces cannot be described as low-tech. So it is Hezbollah's induction of drones that has now turned the spotlight firmly on these birds. When first unveiled by American forces over Afghanistan, drones were accepted as yet another technical novelty that US forces routinely display. With Hezbollah's deployment, the drone is no longer the exclusive preserve of high-tech armouries. As a force multiplier in the battlefield, it is something that even low-tech forces can now expect to deploy.
Tora Bora
Early on in their careers, these drones – now more commonly referred to as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – had been deployed mostly for 'passive' electronic intelligence gathering operations, and also to act as target decoys for testing missile and air defence systems, which functions they still perform.
Hezbollah's deployment followed earlier, more publicised, deployment of UAVs, particularly in Afghanistan and Iraq. The earliest example of their deployment in battle, a spectacular one, was in the course of the Bekaa Valley air battle in June 1982, when the Israelis used remotely piloted vehicles to track Syrian jet fighters, which they then proceeded to knock off in very large numbers (reportedly more than 80 over two days). The drones stayed away from the public gaze during this period, and not much was spoken about their capabilities.
The 11 September 2001 terrorist attack in the US was a watershed for nations and security officials around the world as the global dimension of terrorism and conventional warfare finally sank into their consciousness. A desperate scramble to check the whereabouts of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his forces, as also the need to maintain continuous tabs on them, produced the first big shock for the US military and intelligence establishments.
With Osama and his forces holed up in the rugged, and mostly inaccessible, geography of Afghanistan, a search for them could only be conducted with the help of UAVs, such as the famed Predator. As a system the Predator is fully geared to perform such tasks. The problem for the US forces was that the Predator, and similar UAVs, existed in their inventory in meagre numbers. Not surprisingly, almost the very first call, post-9/11, which went out from the US military and intelligence establishments, was for an immediate increase in their strength.
The Predator went into action in the Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan, the presumed hideout of Osama, and details of its remarkable capabilities filtered out. The mountain fastness of Tora Bora, and the multi-tiered 'caves' that Osama had reportedly built there, did not prove to be too much of an obstacle for Allied Forces, particularly with the Predator's 'seismic probe' faculties going into operation. Very soon the Taliban, as well as Osama himself, were on the run; with that, UAVs established themselves as a critical battlefield asset.
Operations in Afghanistan, and subsequently in Iraq and Lebanon, have now installed the UAV as an integral part of military operations. An 'unblinking eye' in the sky, these remotely or self-guided, pilot-less aerial vehicles now maintain lonely vigils over hot spots around the globe in increasingly larger numbers than ever before. Around the world, military forces are expending much thought, and money, over the induction of these birds into their arsenal.
A variety of capabilities
UAVs carry cameras, sensors and communications equipment, providing an integrated intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance system. Some of them are also armed, like the Predator, which can fire the potent Hellfire missiles.
The Global Hawk is another prominently deployed UAV system. The Israelis are old time users and developers of such systems. Their Searcher and Heron UAVs have recorded years of service and refinement.
Ever since the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, UAV technology has seen a continuous upgrades, making these vehicles useful for multiple functions. Advances in technology, such as miniaturisation and digital imagery, are enhancing the capabilities of such systems manifold. An overall decrease in the cost and of physical weight and bulk of electronics, with a corresponding increase in computing capability, combined with improved communications and sensor capabilities have added immensely to the potency of these systems.
With UAVs providing real or near real-time information, there has been a dramatic impact on the decision making capabilities of field commanders. Digital images are now streaming back in real time, enabling military commanders to monitor enemy movement and arrive at decisions in a fraction of the time compared to earlier.
It is not just special forces, operating behind enemy lines and such, who are benefiting from the advantages that the UAV is now enabling them with, but also higher levels of authority who find that taking strategic decisions is a much quicker, and better informed process, than ever before. All thanks to an unblinking eye in the sky.
UAVs are now available in a wide range of varieties, be they hand, slingshot, truck or ship-launched systems, along with the traditional runway-launched versions.
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