Challenges And Opportunities For Air Force Remotely Piloted Aircraft

This report is intended to help guide discussion of the utility of Air National Guard remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) in domestic missions, and it explores the policy and operational constraints that Air National Guard RPAs face.

Highlights the human components of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, their interactions with the technology and each other, and the implications of human capabilities and limitations for the larger system Considers human factors issues associated with RPAS, but within the context of a very large system of people, other vehicles, policy, safety concerns, and varying applications Chapters have been contributed by world class experts in HSI and those with operational RPAS experience Considers unintended consequences associated with taking a more myopic view of this system Examines implications for practice, policy, and research Considers both civil and military aspects of RPAS

The Air Force has managed its remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) pilots using some strategic human-capital approaches, such as planning for the different levels of experience that it needs in these pilots. However, it continues to face challenges. This book evaluates the extent to which the Air Force has used a strategic human-capital approach to manage RPA pilots; addresses concerns, if any, about the working conditions of RPA pilots that may affect their quality of life; and analyzes the promotion rates of RPA pilots. It also discusses the extent to which plans were in place to account for the personnel, facilities, and communications infrastructure needed to support Air Force and Army UAS inventories. Challenges that affect the ability of the Air Force and the Army to train personnel for UAS operations are also addressed.

This book examines the evolution of airpower and specifically the growth and proliferation of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs). While most existing literature examines either the law or ethics of RPAs, and some newer scholarship looks to the battlefield effectiveness (the gains from strikes versus the potential for ‘blowback, etc.), this work investigates it from a broader military perspective. It examines the strategy for employment of RPAs across the spectrum of warfare, the potential deterrent value of RPAs in some circumstances, and the resulting ability of RPAs to fundamentally shift the character of when and how wars are fought. The central aim of this book is to evaluate the role of ‘drones’ in warfare to date, and make basic projections on how states will adopt RPAs and UCAVs in the future. At the core is the goal of answering a broad, underlying research question: How will the RPA innovation impact military strategy and international security? This book will be of much interest to students of airpower, drone warfare, military and strategic studies, security studies and IR.

Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) have been under development with intent for use in a military environment for almost 100 years. For the majority of that time period, RPA complexity, size, cost, logistical and handling requirements have made them cumbersome and difficult to use dissuading most nations from pursuing them as a viable capability. However, dramatic improvements in technology over the last two decades have allowed for a decrease in size, cost, and complexity while increasing capability. As a result, proliferation of small inexpensive RPAs has occurred on a global scale making them available for nation states and non-state actors to procure. Lightweight RPAs present a threat to USAF contingency operations. To maintain air superiority the USAF must recognize inexpensive RPA proliferation is currently unchecked, the threats they present, and pursue material and non-material solutions to defeat these threats. This paper provides a short review of the history, development, and use of combat RPAs, highlights RPA proliferation and threat, explores emerging anti-RPA technologies and recommends material and non-material solutions to address the threat.This compilation includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.The United States has retained air superiority in every conflict it has participated since the conclusion of the Vietnam War. No U.S. ground forces have been killed in combat by a foreign airpower since the Korean War. The U.S. monopoly on airpower, however, is rapidly coming to a close with increasing global proliferation of inexpensive Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). While the United States Air Force's (USAF) offensive Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) capability is unmatched, its defensive UAS capability is under developed, jeopardizing the USAF's ability to provide air superiority during contingency operations. The next evolution in aviation extends beyond the large multi-million dollar drone highlighted on the nightly news to the easily acquired RPA. Ease of access coupled with intent could lead to state and non-state actors using inexpensive RPAs against our nation. The USAF has little ability to defend against them as existing conventional radars and armaments are designed to detect and defeat large aircraft. To maintain air superiority the USAF must recognize inexpensive UAS proliferation is unchecked, the threats they present, and pursue material and non-material technologies and capabilities to defeat these threats. Low cost RPA technology has flooded the commercial market. Widespread Internet access provides means to purchase sub-components or a fully assembled, ready-to-fly unit. Small RPAs are defined as an asset with a wingspan or rotor-blade diameter less than six feet, can be concealed within the confines of a vehicle, suitcase or backpack, costs less than $25K, and can be operated by one person with no formal training.

"Prepared for the Air Force Special Operations Command"--Title page.

The U.S. Air Force's remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs) have played a significant role in current operations in Southwest Asia. As the inventory of RPAs increases and new sensor technologies come online in the coming years, the Air Force has an opportunity to consider additional roles for these aircraft. Thoughtful study into these possibilities will ensure that, when the Air Force employs RPAs, they will help fill capability gaps or augment existing capabilities in moreefficient or more-effective ways. The purpose of this documented briefing is to describe a suite of tools developed by RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF) to help the Air Force think through future roles for RPAs. It describes tools to evaluate platform selection and concept of operations (CONOPS) development, sensor performance against various targets, weapon effects, environmental factors, platform survivability, computational processing of data, and exploitation of sensor products. This document also explains how the separate analysis in each of these areas feeds into a mission level analysis, performed with PAF's Systems and CONOPS Operational Effectiveness Model (SCOPEM), and a campaign-level analysis using PAF's Force Structure Effectiveness (FSE) model. Use of these tools and models will help clarify how future RPAs can contribute to U.S. warfighting in cost-effective ways. The tools presented here are also useful for examining the effectiveness of new capabilities more broadly (e.g., directed energy weapons or electronic warfare capabilities); examining the effectiveness of new platforms in the context of the entire intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) force posture; and evaluating the most cost-effective ISR force structure to meet future operational needs.