|
Security Beat
Four-Star General in Charge of Homeland Defense Not Big On UAVs
7
2,009
By Sandra I. Erwin
Unmanned aircraft may be proliferating in combat zones, but in U.S. homeland security missions, don’t expect the same phenomenon.
“Unmanned air systems are great, offer unique capabilities,” but they should only plan a supporting role in homeland defense, says Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., head of U.S. Northern Command. Northcom oversees and coordinates the U.S. military’s homeland security missions.
Renuart says unmanned aircraft are valuable assets in niche functions such as aerial surveillance of the border or monitoring wildfires, “but we don’t want to make them the centerpiece of everything we do,” he says in a June 16 speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in Washington, D.C.
UAVs should be integrated with manned aircraft, so they can provide “value added,” instead of being pursued as isolated systems, says Renuart.
One big hurdle for the operation of UAVs in the United States is that they can only fly in restricted airspace. Northcom is working with other federal agencies to figure out how UAVs can be integrated into the national airspace. That process could take many years.
|