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AUSA Aviation 2010: Need for VTOL UAS? is urgent, say US commanders
Operational experience in Afghanistan and Iraq is frequently highlighing the need for the fielding of a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial system (UAS), according to US Army commanders.
In comments that were echoed throughout the Association of the US Army's Army Aviation Symposium in Washington DC on 6-7 January, recent operational experience with currently fielded systems has demonstrated the limitations of fixed-wing UAS.
The deputy commanding general of US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), Brigadier General Raymond Palumbo, said the special operations community now “absolutely” recognised the need for a VTOL system.
Gen Palumbo said during incidents in 2009 lives had been losted because enemy fire was too heavy to use manned platforms for resupply missions.
'So why couldn’t you bring a UAV with ammunition, food and medical supplies and bring them in there. There’s some things you can do with an aircraft that can hover, that you can’t do with a fixed wing because you need a runway to take off,' Gen Palumbo said.
'So is this a SOCOM requirement? Absolutely. Can the conventional forces use it? Absolutely. I’d be glad to take the first batch and work out all the kinks and hand if off and let the greater army pay for it. The reality is that these things are expensive. The fiscal reality is that we are not going to be able to do this alone.'
Colonel Steven D Mathias, director of Special Operations Aviation at USASOC, said the command was currently in the process of developing a new requirement for a UAS system and the characteristics of a VTOL system meant this was 'an important way to proceed'.
Several commanders recently returned from operations said having access to a VTOL UAS would have provided enhanced capabilities.
Colonel Ronald Lewis, brigade commander of 159th Combat Aviation Brigade said due to the mountainous terrain in the north and north-east of Afghanistan, there were areas that fixed wing UAS such as the RQ-7A/B Shadow were unable to adequately cover.
'I think there is a huge role for a vertical UAV that can be used by a company outpost in some of the remote regions, especially in the north and north-east. The key considerations are can they get [the UAS] off the ground, can they see across and around the next hill top, down that valley and provide information back to that patrol. So I think it will have utility especially in the tough terrain of Afghanistan,' Col Lewis said.
Col Lewis said operating bases in such areas generally had a lot less infrastructure to launch and recover a fix-wing UAS.
Colonel Erik Peterson, chief of staff for the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), said experience in complex urban terrain in Iraq had highlighted the advantages of a VTOL unmanned sytem.
'These were small, platoon sized COBs [combat operations bases] in urban slums throughout Mosul and there was no terrain for normal fixed wing launch and recovery,' Col Peterson said.
'Interestingly [the use of a VTOL UAS] probably would have adopted to that transition in Iraq where the intent was to minimise overt US presence. We still had the COPs [Combat Outposts] and COBs out there but the desire was to stay there with our Iraqi partners and minimally expose overt US presence. So a vertical UAV would have utility in that kind of environment.'
By Tony Skinner, Washington DC
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