Unmanned Aircraft Kills Three Insurgents(on March 28)

Defense Talk ^

[MARKUSPRIME]

WASHINGTON: An MQ-1B Predator unmanned aerial vehicle engaged three insurgents in the process of planting a homemade bomb along a road near Balad Air Base, Iraq, March 28 and launched an AGM-114 Hellfire missile against the group.

The Predator monitored the three insurgents for about a half hour while they used a pickax to dig a hole in the road, placing an explosive round in the hole, and stringing wires from the hole to a ditch on the side of the road.

When it was clear the individuals were placing a bomb, the Predator launched the 100-pound Hellfire missile, killing all three insurgents.

"This is a prime example of how airpower is supporting the fight on the ground," said Brig. Gen. Frank Gorenc, commander of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad. "We're able to provide a persistent view of the battlefield to commanders on the ground and, if called upon, put a weapon on a target within minutes."

[timer]

That story from balad has a personal meaning for me. My nephew is a AF msgt on 4 months active duty(from reserve status in WA state)at the Balad airbase. He sent us a picture of him standing in front of a predator, nice to know it's being used for the skyhigh price it costs. He says the terrorists have a creative way of doing mortars : put the mortar tube in water, leaving the round suspended above, ready to drop, in ice(it gets super cold at night in the desert there); then when the ice melts in the morning the round drops, and they are long gone. Thus they have lots of concrete walls all around the base, mostly effective as these mortars are not particularly accurate; Doug says that only if they score a direct hit on the tents they live in is there any casualties. The operating theaters are concrete shelters, not flimsy tents. Sad isn't it? They treat wounded iraqis as well as their own guys, and the thanks they get is the terrorist's IEDs...And too, in 36 hours flat they can have our wounded guys in Landstahl germany aboard ICU-equipped AF cargo planes, amazing medical technology vs past wars...

[NaughtiusMaximus]

Ahhhhhh! Leaves me with a case of the warm fuzzies! Making them spend the last 30 minutes of their miserable lives digging a hole next to the highway was the best part.

[Mat_Helm]

I have no doubt this action saved lives and who can place the cost of even one life. But the cost of hellfire missles has to be several hundred thousand dollars a piece and we can't kill every insurgent with a hellfire and win the war on terror and pay for it. The hellfire was designed to take out tanks and mechanized infantry. Couldn't they call in gunships or orbitting strike aircraft to place an accurately delivered bullet or dumb iron bomb at .oo1% of the cost? Not to be picky or anything and I would be the first to say horray for 3 more dead terrorists and I even like the overkill, as long as we don't run out of hellfires to take care of business when the shooting starts with Iran and or Syria where they will be needed more.

[TexasCajun]

Can you just imagine some soldier "playing" Predator on a big computer screen at some secure location, seeing what the Predator sees, weapons armed, searching, searching.

Target Acquired!

Fire!

Good Job Soldier!

[Rummyfan]

They blowed up real good!

[Rummyfan]

Considering the psychological effect an attack like this could have, it's money very well spent.

[Dumpster Baby]

Two more and it's an ace.

[e_engineer]

Hellfire missiles are about $58,000 each.

You can rest assured that the folks operating the Predator are well aware of the cost of using one.

The article mentioned that they watched the insurgents for half an hour before zotting them. During this time the officer in charge almost certainly was checking in with the air operations folks to see if a gunship or fast mover was available for a (low tech) strike.

[Rummyfan]

Mark Levin is talking about this right now!

[Mat_Helm]

You are probably right. I just recall during the gulf war operating commnaders told Apache gunners to stop taking out $20,000 dollar trucks with $100,000 dollar missles and to use their chain gun more. Even in CCIP mode an F/A-18 can place a MK82 within 10 feet from 10,000 feet up. I agree and my statement may be premature and I withdraw my ascertion. Hurray for another smoking whole courtesy of the Predetor and a well used hellfire.

[A.A. Cunningham]

[Francis McClobber]

"Couldn't they call in gunships or orbitting strike aircraft to place an accurately delivered bullet or dumb iron bomb at .oo1% of the cost?"

If we are looking at things in strictly a cost per kill view, cost per flight hour for either a helicopter gunship, an AC-130 or your standard, run of the mill strike fighter is gobs higher than the predator. Precision aside, a dumb bomb is not that less expensive than a hellfire. With the precision factored in, it usually takes more than one dumb bomb to take out a target and the collateral damage is huge, so the cost goes up not only in steel delivered, but pr lost. With the hellfire, one missile - one kill.

On the whole, its quite a bargain.