House Armed Services chair urges unmanned drones for Iraq
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., Thursday urged the Air Force to send more unmanned aerial drones to Iraq in an effort to neutralize the threat of roadside bombs and other improvised explosives popular among Iraqi insurgents.
During a hearing, Hunter stressed that improvised explosive devices pose the most imminent danger to soldiers in Iraq. He told Air Force Secretary James Roche and Air Force Chief of Staff John Jumper that drones and other Air Force assets could help preclude that threat.
"There are prospects for using technology to be able to monitor those roadways," Hunter said during the hearing, adding that the Army has had difficulty gaining access to Air Force systems that could be used for this purpose.
Roche said the Air Force is working to improve coordination and is experimenting with new unmanned aerial vehicles and radar systems. He said tests had been conducted recently in the desert sands of Yuma, Ariz., on a backpack-sized drone that will soon be deployed to Iraq. He also highlighted the efforts of a senior-level working group in the Pentagon charged with improving joint cooperation.
But Hunter was unappeased. "I think we're failing, I don't think we're making the connectivity," he said. "We have lots of assets right now that I think could be helpful in knocking these [improvised explosive devices] off."
Hunter asserted there are several Predator UAVs in the United States that could be deployed to assist ground forces in Iraq. The Predator is made by General Atomics of San Diego, Calif. Roche insisted the current Predator inventory is deployed overseas or engaged in training activities.
Hunter, along with Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, also voiced concerned with the future of U.S. long-range strike capabilities. They urged the Air Force to consider developing a follow-on bomber to replenish the service's legacy fleet.
"In the future we will have little guarantee of bases in the region, and we'll increasingly, I think, be dependent on hitting a target anywhere in the world from the United States," Thornberry said. "Aren't we being shortsighted in not pursuing these programs?"
Roche said bombers are effective against fixed targets, but emphasized the need for an aircraft that can deliver long-range strike capability against moving targets.
"We're trying to build a portfolio of long-range strike" capabilities, Roche said. "The next phase is something that has twice to three times the range of an F/A-22." The Air Force is currently considering a medium-range bomber version of the F/A-22, the service's next generation stealth fighter.
Hunter highlighted the Air Force's reliance on older B-1 and B-52 aircraft for long-range strike capability. Last year, Hunter rescued nearly three-fourths of the B-1Bs the Air Force planned to retire in FY04, adding $5.4 million to the administration's $92 million request for refurbishment on the defense reauthorization bill. "That's a major asset to let go at this point" when there is no comparable next-generation capability on the horizon, he said.
Next week, the House Armed Services Projection Forces Subcommittee will hold a hearing on capabilities for conducting conventional long-range strike operations.