Army's aviation branch takes over UAS mission

Herald/Review

FORT HUACHUCA — As of Wednesday, the Army’s intelligence-gathering unmanned aerial systems are now part of the Aviation Warfighting Center at Fort Rucker, Ala.

But the initial operation and maintenance of the pilotless planes will not be moved from Arizona to Alabama, Brig. Gen. E. J. Sinclair said.

Instead, Fort Huachuca can expect to be home to even more training as the Army’s unmanned aircraft program grows, said Sinclair, who commands the Army Aviation Warfighting Center and the Alabama post.

The unmanned aircraft program will increase in capabilities beyond the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance most of the systems now do, he said after a ceremony in which the Provisional Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training Battalion was activated at the Rugge-Hamilton Airfield on Fort Huachuca.

“The role of the unmanned aerial systems are expanding,” the general said, noting additional missions are planned, such as using pilotless aircraft to deliver weapons on targets, as well as accommodating manned and unmanned command and control.

When it comes to integrating manned and unmanned aircraft into formation flying, that training will be done at Fort Rucker, Sinclair said.

“The initial training will be here (at Fort Huachuca),” Sinclair said.

As the Army increases its unmanned aircraft inventory, there will be a need for more soldiers in the program, he said. The Army will continue to use enlisted soldiers as pilots for the unmanned aerial aircraft.

One of the future systems, the Warrior, is larger than the two main systems now used by the Army — the Shadow and Hunter. Although the Warrior’s airframe is similar to one the Air Force uses, the pilots on the ground will not be rated warrant or commissioned officers, Sinclair said. The Air Force uses rated commissioned pilots in their unmanned aerial system programs.

Fort Huachuca also may see foreign students coming to the post. A number of countries have expressed interest in training their people in Arizona, said the general said, who didn’t say which nations may send students to Arizona.

For those in the Army aviation community, there is an increase in positions for soldiers of all ranks, the general said. For instance, aviation warrant officers will become unmanned aerial systems platoon leaders.

The potential of unmanned aerial systems, once called unmanned aerial vehicles, has yet to be fully tapped, Sinclair said.

“It’s a growth industry,” he said.

During a speech at the transfer ceremony, Sinclair said, “The potential for other missions for our unmanned systems is unlimited, homeland security, disaster relief, combined arms operations, stability and support operations, and contingency operations to name a few.”

When the United States crossed the line from Kuwait into Iraq in 2003, 17 unmanned aircraft were available. Today, more than 400 fly in the skies over Iraq, the general said.

Unmanned aerial systems could reach 5,000 in the next five years, he added.

The beginning of the Army’s UAS program and its recent successes are due to the hard work of the Army military intelligence community, Sinclair said.

“The reputation you have forged on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan is legendary and you have established unmanned systems as a combat multiplier and critical intelligence asset for commanders at every level,” he told the intelligence community members at the event.

With the move of Army unmanned aircraft training to the Aviation Warfighting Center, the general promised the successes of the intelligence community will continue.

Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast, commander of the Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca, noted that the first chapter of Army unmanned aircraft history began on the Arizona post.

The forerunner of the Hunter, Shadow and Pioneer programs began in the mid-1950s at the fort’s Army Electronic Proving Ground by putting communications equipment, including cameras, on unmanned planes.

“From this experimental training in the 1950s an unmanned aerial system has evolved which is currently one of the most critical battlefield force multipliers,” Fast said.

The transfer of the training program was a yearlong process, with both branches — Intelligence and Aviation — working together to bring it to a successful conclusion, Fast said.

It is due to the soldiers, civilians and contractors assigned to Company E, 305th Military Intelligence Battalion that training on post has been successful, she said.

The Army’s unmanned aerial system program will be strengthened by the partnership forged by the Military Intelligence and Army Aviation branches, she said.

With the completion of the speeches by Fast, who spoke first, and Sinclair, the new battalion’s flag was uncased and unfurled, with Col. Michael Dixon, commander of the 1st Aviation Brigade, holding the staff on which the colors were attached with Lt. Col. Ronald Myers, who is the battalion’s commander and Command Sgt. Maj. Raleigh Matthews unfurling the banner.

Behind the color guard, the four guidons of the battalion’s companies also were unfurled by the unit commanders and first sergeants.

Fast noted that when the ceremony concluded and the chairs were folded, the two Army communities will continue to march ahead, remembering the successful past of unmanned aerial systems, which have included the training of more than 4,000 soldiers on Fort Huachuca in operating and maintaining the pilotless aircraft.

Sinclair told her, “Major General Fast, you and our team here at Fort Huachuca have established a strong foundation and legacy for our unmanned aerial systems soldiers.”

For Fast, the pilotless plane program on the fort continues, moving from one organization to another. The initial unit was a Signal Corps organization. The program then became part of the Military Intelligence Branch, and now it is under the Aviation Branch.

“History continues today with this transfer,” she said.

SENIOR REPORTER Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.