A Reaper drone aircraft lands during a training program at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. U.S. commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq have demanded an increase in number of drone aircraft in the next three years. Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times/MCT/NewscomAs Drones Multiply In Iraq And Afghanistan, So Do Their Uses -- Christian Science Monitor
The Pentagon's embrace of drones in Iraq and Afghanistan has created demand for them among commanders on the ground, changing the face of situational awareness.
The Air Force will expand the number of unmanned drone aircraft flying over the skies of Afghanistan and Iraq in the next three years, as a result of commanders' demand for digital images useful in hunting down enemy forces.
By 2011, the Air Force will be flying as many as 50 drones, or combat air patrols in the war zones, and by 2013 that number will jump to 65, say Air Force officials. Currently there are 40.
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My Comment: The eye in the sky is what every commander on the ground wants .... and in real time. What the Pentagon is learning (or has learned) is that UAV drones fit into this request perfectly.