Cannon pilots set to fly unmanned aircraft

Pilots at Cannon Air Force Base eventually may fly missions in faraway lands without ever leaving eastern New Mexico.

The main tool that will allow them to do so is the MQ-1 Predator, an unmanned drone that provides interdiction and reconnaissance against enemy targets as its primary mission.

Several members of the 3rd Special Operations Squadron have already arrived at Cannon and more will follow, according to Major Chris Roberts, 3rd SOS Detachment 1 commander.

“With the 3rd SOS mission, Cannon will be on the leading edge of unmanned aerial employment in the Air Force,” Roberts said. “We will be an integral part of this important new capability and will shape its use in support of special operations forces worldwide.”

Roberts said Cannon will have a Predator Operations Center as well as planes at the base, but the short-term focus will be the POC.

“Aircraft will arrive as available, but a schedule for their arrival hasn’t been determined yet,” Roberts said.

He said the number of Predators Cannon will receive is unknown at this time and will vary greatly based on their worldwide combat tasking at any one time once they do arrive.

Roberts expects the squadron at Cannon to grow to an end-strength of 250 personnel. It will grow incrementally over the next year as existing squadron members are moved from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. or new members arrive from other bases.

Existing buildings at Cannon are currently being modified to accomodate the POC, squadron headquarters and hangar, according to Roberts.

“Construction for future growth is planned, but the overall scale has not yet been determined,” Roberts said.

Defense Department figures show the Air Force more than doubled its monthly use of drones between January and October of last year. That demand forced them to take pilots out of the air and shift them to remote flying duty.

The Air Force said in a recent report that it will continue to see a dramatic increase in the development and use of drones over the next 25 years.

“The demand far exceeds all of the Defense Department’s ability to provide (these) assets,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Larry Gurgainous, deputy director of the Air Force’s unmanned aircraft task force. “And as we buy and field more systems, you will see it continue to go up.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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They’ve been called the U.S. military’s “unblinking eye,” and the ability to provide a near constant presence overhead is the attraction of unmanned aerial vehicles.

High-tech military systems such as the MQ-1 Predator, which the Air Force eventually plans to bring to Cannon Air Force Base, have changed the face of modern warfare during the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Markus Deters, deputy for unmanned systems division at Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Air Force Base, Fla.

“What the Predator gives you is that 24-hour eye in the sky,” Deters said. “It’s definitely something everybody out there wants.”

The MQ-1 Predator’s primary functions, according to an Air Force fact sheet, are armed reconnaissance, airborne surveillance and target acquisition. The $40 million aircraft can take off on a 5,000 foot runway and has a range of 454 miles. It can be armed with two Hellfire laser-guided missles, making it an offensive weapon when necessary.

Deters said one of the major benefits of the Predator is its staying power — a drone can remain aloft for as much as 24 hours and because you don’t have to have actual people flying it, fewer people are required to be in forward positions in harm’s way.

Instead of having personnel deployed into a forward area and having to set up bases and supply lines to those people, Deters said a good portion of the crew can remain in the U.S.

Deters said UAVs have been in great demand during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said the technology and dependability of the Predator continues to improve and active use has increased their use.

“(That’s) because we’re in an operation that could cost a lot of life and limb,” Deters said.

Deters said they are able to put a Predator up for a long period of time above a particularly troublesome spot and provide constant intelligence on enemy movement and strength.

The Predator is a complete system, according to the fact sheet, which includes four aircraft, a ground control station, a Predator Primary Satellite Link and approximately 55 personnel for deployed 24-hour operations.

Normally a ground crew flies the aircraft during takeoff and line-of-sight flight, according to Deters. They then handoff operation of the aircraft, via satellite, to a Predator Operations Center, often in the U.S.

The drone can be disassembled and packed into a “coffin” and transported on a C-130 transport aircraft.

The Air Force became the operating service for RQ-1 Predator in 1996. Since that time the name was changed to MQ-1 to reflect the addition of its armament.

“It’s just one of the more valuable assets we have here at AFSOC and we’re looking to expand,” Deters said.

General Characteristics of the MQ-1

• Power Plant: Rotax 914F four-cylinder engine

• Thrust: 115 horsepower

• Wingspan: 48.7 feet

• Length: 27 feet

• Height: 6.9 feet

• Weight: 1,130 pounds

• Maximum takeoff weight: 2,250 pounds

• Fuel capacity: 665 pounds

• Payload: 450 pounds

• Speed: Cruise Speed around 84 mph, up to 135 mph

• Range: 400 nautical miles

• Ceiling: Up to 25,000 feet

• Armament: Two laser-guided Hellfire missiles

• Crew (remote): Two (pilot and sensor operator)

• Initial operational capability: March 2005

• Unit cost: $40 million (fiscal 1997 dollars)

• Inventory: Active force, 97