[KTM rider]

Currently, the U.S. Air Force uses a concept called "Remote-Split Operations" where the satellite datalink is located in a different location and is connected to the GCS through fiber optic cabling. This allows Predators to be launched and recovered by a small "Launch and Recovery Element" and then handed off to a "Mission Control Element" for the rest of the flight. This allows a smaller number of troops to be deployed to a forward location, and consolidates control of the different flights in one location.

evidently yhe system needs a forward operating team in line of sight proximity on the ground because of the sattelite delay between controller joystick and vehicle, it can be launched 400 miles away and handed off , so capture of the forward operating base is a possibility, NO ?

[Hulka]

Safety observers are there to monitor the launch and recovery, not as some sort of comm-link.

There is no requirement for this UAV (or Predator) to have a direct line-of-sight satellite feed as the data is passed through. . .satellites. . .and latency between what a controller puts in and the UAV actually moving is negligible and hardly noticeable.

The quote you provide talks about helping launch and recovery,not operations, and a “capture” of the UAV electronically can’t happen. . .especially with the Iranians or even the Chinese or Russians. . .the signal is encrypted and secure and beyond their capability.