Verified Document

Predator Unmanned Aerial Systems Term Paper

¶ … Predators has led to Decrease in Road-Side Bombings in Afghanistan The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) started firing drones missiles in Afghanistan in order to reduce civilian casualties and reduce roadside bombings. These missiles known as Predators incorporate accuracy, wide efficient surveillance and precision target meant to reduce roadside bombings. To minimize civilian casualties, the Predator targets mobile insurgents as opposed to focusing on residential areas. The use of Predator has minimized roadside bombings and civilian as a result of increased surveillance.

Roadside bombing casualties represent a reduction from a 10% casualty level in 2009, 7% in 2011 to almost 3% in 2012. In line with this, Brook (2012 ), adds that improvised explosive devices were a major cause of troop deaths untill the introduction of the Predator.

The most important feature of the predator is the detection of all types of improvised explosive devices. Data indicate that from January through March; the predator had detected 53% of improvised explosive devices before they blew up and from March through May the detection had gone up 11 points to 64% of improvised explosive devices before they blew up. The detectors on the aircraft help in identification of wires attached to bombs as well as bomb making plants. This is consistent with the findings of the CIA that show roadside bombings having reduced following the introduction of Predators in the Afghanistan war. The Agency further reiterates that roadside missile campaigns by the Predator had not resulted in any civil casualties. Officials representing the Agency interviewed by the New York Times said that from August 2011, the number of roadside bombing casualties...

They establish that roadside bombings have killed an approximately 50 noncombatants, a decline after the lunch of Predator drone activities in the country.
In February 2012, investigations conducted by the Associated Press (AP) found out that militants were the main victims of roadside bomb attacks contrary to the prevalent perception in Afghanistan that civilians are the principal victims (Abbot, 2012). AP investigations confirmed that there were approximately 194 dead militants and 35 civilians following roadside bombings. Furthermore, the number of daily roadside bombings has been reducing each day. The research established that approximately 10 roadside bombings had detonated but civilians were not injured as a result of the explosions.

Analytical Arguments

The Predators' ability to linger in particular areas for long hours while streaming instant videos warning of insurgent activities has been vital in reducing road side bombings. The Predators identify terrorist compounds and planted roadside bombs and alert field commander in Afghanistan of the presence of nearby roadside bombs.

The Predators flying approximately 34 surveillance patrols daily in Afghanistan transmit 16,000 hours of videos monthly on the condition of the American ground troops and roads in Afghanistan (Martin & Sasser, 2010). The Predators have infrared cameras installed on them which give clear pictures of roads even during dark nights to the pilots commanding them. Moreover, the Predators relay pictures of the roads to the pilots for scanning whether there are signs of militants planting improvised explosive devices or waiting to attack passing military convoys.…

Sources used in this document:
Bibliography

Abbot, S. Study: Militants, not Civilians, are Primary Victims of Drone Attacks. Associated Press, 2012.

Brook, Tom Vanden. "Drones detection cutting into IEDs in Afghanistan."

www.theleafchronicle.com. July 16, 2012 . (accessed July 22, 2012).

Drew, C. "Drones Are Playing a Growing Role in Afghanistan ." The New York Times, February
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Drones Unmanned Aerial Systems Uavs
Words: 12745 Length: 40 Document Type: Thesis

This category can further be divided into six subgroups namely; short-range, medium range, long-range, close range, endurance, Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The long-range UAVs are technologically more advanced as they use satellites in order to overcome the communication problem between the UAVs and the ground stations. This communication problem is generally caused by the curvature of the earth. The medium, short and close range

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Magnuson, Stew.
Words: 638 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

However, this article makes a counter argument against such a use. Instead, it argues that the greatest benefit of unmanned aerial vehicles will come from developing ones not fast and flashy, but instead slow and steady. Instead of remote missions from the United States, according to the article, the operations should be capable of loitering over the same spot for months. In this sense, the unmanned aerial vehicle will act

Drones the Use of Predator
Words: 926 Length: 3 Document Type: Research Paper

Using drones to monitor these areas might deter the use of such roadside devices by simply minimizing the number of targets available to them. By contrast, we must also consider the theory of Just War, which asserts that any tactic used in the military setting must be cognizant of the demands imposed by this model. Where the use of the military drone is concerned, it is appropriate to make appropriate

UAV's and Related Hf Issues
Words: 3152 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

UAV and High Frequency Radio Unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAV) have been in use for some 30 years and used for a variety of purposes. Most commonly, these aircraft are used for military or scientific reconnaissance missions, where data is gathered to improve the ability of professionals to perform their duties. There are, however, a variety of challenges that must be met when these aircraft are in use. One of these is

Drones the Predator Drone and
Words: 724 Length: 3 Document Type: Research Proposal

Would observational field research efforts contribute data for your course research project? Field research could be conducted in a specific context where military drones are used. Here, the research could directly observe the manner in which drones are used and could make count of the proportion between causalities and roadside bombings through that duration. b. Where would you conduct the observational field research? For the present research, this could best be accomplished

Human Factors Affecting Safe Operation
Words: 3758 Length: 12 Document Type: Literature Review

This is significant, because it is showing how the best pilots will use the various tools on the aircraft to gain a greater understanding of the situation. (Drury, 2008) Types of UAVs Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (2010), discusses the different kinds of UAVs that the military has been using. The most notable include: the Pioneer, the Tactical UAV, Global Hawk, Predator and Dragon just to name a few. These different aircraft are

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now