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View Full Version : Gen. wants faster deployment of unmanned robots



bobdina
08-12-2009, 10:57 AM
WASHINGTON - As pilotless U.S. drones do battle from the sky in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, a top U.S. Army officer is urging the military to step up the deployment of unmanned vehicles on the ground.

"It's all about saving lives," said Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, the commander of the III Armored Corps and the holder of a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

"There's got to be a sense of urgency," Lynch told delegates Aug. 11 at an exhibition here featuring manufacturers from around the world of unmanned ground, maritime, air and space systems.

While serving in Iraq, Lynch said he lost a total of 153 soldiers under his command, and "80 percent of those soldiers didn't have to die."

"I am so tired of going to demonstrations of technology," he said. "The technology is there. We've got to get past the demonstrations and into the field.

"If you're not fielding, you're failing," he said.

The U.S. military makes extensive use of unmanned drones against Taliban and al-Qaida militants in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq both for surveillance and launching missile strikes.

But ground operations are mostly limited to the use of small camera-equipped robots to detect improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.

Lynch, who also commands Fort Hood, Texas, the largest U.S. military base, said aerial surveillance and weapons systems were useful but "the bad guys know that if the weather turns bad we can't see them from the air."

He said among the "immediate applications" for unmanned vehicles were route clearance, surveillance and in convoys.

"We're going to be fighting this war on terror for the next 10 years, and the enemy's weapon of choice is the IED," he said. "It is today and it will be in the future."

Lynch said unmanned vehicles exist that are "excellent at clearing routes," which can go from point A to point B and even detect and avoid obstacles.

"Let's get those kids out of the vehicles," he said.

The general said unmanned vehicles should also be deployed to carry out what he called "persistent stare."

"The bad guys in Iraq and Afghanistan, they've got their favorite places where they want to place their IEDs," he said.

When aerial surveillance is not available, "we watch those IED hotspots with human beings, which puts them at risk," he said.

Unmanned robots can "watch these IED hotspots for extended periods of time .... and kill those bad guys before they can plant the IEDs," he said.

Lynch said the technology exists to use unmanned vehicles in convoys, as lead or trailing vehicles, for example, cutting down on the number of drivers and the risks.

"We're losing so many soldiers in convoys it's an embarrassment," he said. "Why does every vehicle have to be occupied by a human being?"

He said an unmanned vehicle could also be used as a "robotic wingman" - a fighting platform which mirrors the actions of a manned vehicle.

Lynch invited participants in the exhibition, sponsored by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), to attend a Sept. 1-3 "Robotics Rodeo" that he is holding at Fort Hood.

"Bring your systems to Fort Hood and allow the soldiers who just got back from combat to use them," he said. "They'll tell you 'This is going to work. I know that ain't going to work.' "


http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4231507&c=AME&s=LAN

ghost
08-12-2009, 11:12 AM
This is good. Now lets hope that Congress can provide the funding.:duh:

scoutsout80
08-12-2009, 11:23 AM
This is good. Now lets hope that Congress can provide the funding.:duh:

As the Everly Brothers sang, Dream dream dream......

Cruelbreed
08-12-2009, 01:38 PM
This guy is very intelligent. How many weapons systems do we see on programs such as future weapons. They do not all function 100% perfectly but I understand where the general is coming from. There are so many examples of futuristic developments far beyond our time that are perhaps dragged out too log when they're needed now. If done properly these companies can be doing real life simulation and testing on the field where there technologies are needed now. What better way to develop a platform then to see initially how it reacts on the battlefield.

Of course things are not as simple as this but the truth is, there are ways to improve how fast our military gets its hands on some of these technologies. While they may not all be 100% complete... some of their elements might be not only fully functional but useable. Sometimes there's a use for an early stage product even before its final "dream" development state is complete. A UAV that could fly over an area for 6 hrs was useful before they could fly 18 hrs, before they could be armed with missiles to drop bombs.

ghost
08-12-2009, 02:21 PM
Yeah, this capability will definitely come in handy. I'm sure the UAVs will come in handy when they're providing fire support to Special Operations units inside Pakistan(whenever that happens).

GTFPDQ
08-12-2009, 05:44 PM
The imagination can run riot with the kit that is being designed, developed and fielded.