Thu, Sep 20, 2007
Inter-Service Bickering For Naught
The US Air Force has been rebuffed
in its effort to become the central agency for medium and
high-altitude unmanned aircraft used in warfare by the US.
As ANN reported, the Air
Force has argued that the increasing number of UAVs used in combat
required better organization, and that single-point procurement
would avoid redundancy and waste.
The Army and Marines argued that their modern, fast-moving
ground forces needed control over their own craft in battle.
Outside analysis said competition in UAV development was helpful,
reports the Air Force Times.
And so, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England announced in a
memo written last week that the defense undersecretary for
acquisition will create a task force to coordinate critical UAS
issues, while the Joint Requirements Oversight Council will
coordinate the development of training and tactics.
"We’re trying to determine a way ahead, and this is an
interim way of looking at the situation," a senior DoD official
told the Times. "We can now see the kind of questions that need to
be answered, and this addressed the equities of all the services
involved."
England also ordered the merger of the USAF Predator and the US
Army Sky Warrior programs by October of next year.
"I believe the secretary made the right decision," said Tim
Owings, the Army’s deputy project manager for unmanned
aircraft systems. "What you are going to see is increased
collaboration between the Army and the Air Force with a big ability
to focus on service specific needs."
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