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Last month, the U.S. Air Force created four new UAV squadrons (29th Attack Squadron, 6th Reconnaissance Squadron, 16th Training Squadron and 849th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron). All these new units are actually training squadrons. The air force is training 220 operator crews (each with a pilot and one or two sensor operators) a year. In two years, this will increase to 400 a year, which will enable the air force to run 50 CAPs (Combat Air Patrol; UAVs in the air over a combat zone) simultaneously. The large number of new crews are needed because the pilots only operate UAVs for...

The U.S. Air Force has a morale problem with its combat pilots. The issue is lack of action for the pilots. That, plus the increased use of unmanned aircraft, and the very real prospect that the age of the manned combat aircraft may be coming to an end. This is made worse with hundreds of fighter pilots being assigned to operating Predator and Reaper UAVs. This was not popular duty, even though the pilots still draw flight pay. It is tedious work, although the UAV operators often saw more combat action than they did when piloting F-16s or F-15s. The...

LAGHMAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Oct. 19, 2009 – Odin was a warrior god in Greek mythology who ancient warriors beseeched for victory and protection in battle. It was said Odin had ravens that would fly over the Earth each day. The ravens brought tidings of events from all corners of the earth. Army Spc. Mitchell Matney launches a Raven unmanned aerial vehicle at Combat Outpost Nagil in Afghanistan’s Laghman province, Oct. 13, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Derek L. Kuhn  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Soldiers here today also are using Ravens to gather information. But though their Ravens...

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) which used to be in favor of human wave tactics has revealed its growing interest in military robot systems such as the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) mounted on trucks that appeared for the first time on National Day parade. A total of ten short and mid-range UAVs, obviously driven by a two-bladed propeller at the top or end of the fuselages, are painted with blue and red strips on the fuselage and wings.

The Taliban in Pakistan have released a video confirming that their former leader Baitullah Mehsud is dead. A video received by the BBC shows the body of the former head of Pakistan's largest Taliban group lying in a room. It is not clear where it was taken. Mr Mehsud was killed on 6 August in the tribal region of South Waziristan in a missile attack by a suspected US drone.

Phantom Ray will pick up where the UCAS program left off in 2006 by further demonstrating Boeing’s unmanned systems development capabilities in a fighter-sized, state-of-the-art aerospace system. The Boeing UCAS program began with the X-45A, which successfully flew 64 times from 2002 to 2005. Those flights included a demonstration exercise with two X-45A aircraft that marked the first unmanned, autonomous multivehicle flight under the control of a single pilot...] ...Currently planned Dec. 2, the Air Force Flight Test Center’s B-52 will carry the X-51A to 50,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean then release it. A solid rocket booster from an...

The next-generation surveillance package for the Air Force's MQ-9 Reaper drones, named for Medusa's stony glare, will provide an unprecedentedly broad view of the battlefield spanning time and space The military’s unblinking eye in the sky, which keeps watch over operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, is about to get even beadier. A new multi-camera sensor the U.S. Air Force is adding to its killer spy drones will exponentially broaden the area troops can monitor, and the technology lets a dozen users simultaneously grab different slices of the image. Called the Gorgon Stare, it represents the next big step in...

Russian company develops heavy UAV for military use 12:38 04/08/2009 MOSCOW, August 4 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Kronshtadt defense company has developed a new- generation heavy unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for military purposes, a senior company official said on Tuesday. "The Kronshtadt engineers have developed a heavy Dozor-3 UAV with a lift-off weight of 600 kg and a payload of 100 kg, which could be used as a strike aircraft," said Viktor Godunov, member of the company's board of directors. "It can carry various types of reconnaissance equipment and weaponry," he added. The Russian military stressed the need to provide...

WASHINGTON — From a secret division at its North Carolina headquarters, the company formerly known as Blackwater has assumed a role in Washington’s most important counterterrorism program: the use of remotely piloted drones to kill Al Qaeda’s leaders, according to government officials and current and former employees. The division’s operations are carried out at hidden bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the company’s contractors assemble and load Hellfire missiles and 500-pound laser-guided bombs on remotely piloted Predator aircraft, work previously performed by employees of the Central Intelligence Agency. They also provide security at the covert bases, the officials said. The...

As part of an expanding programme of battlefield automation, the American air force has said it is now training more drone operators than fighter and bomber pilots. In a controversial shift in military thinking – one encouraged by the confirmed death of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a drone-strike on 5 August – the air force is looking to hugely expand its fleet of unmanned aircraft by 2047. Three years ago, the service was able to fly just 12 drones at a time; now it can fly more than 50. At a trade conference outside Washington last week, military...

The Air Force will train more pilots to fly unmanned aerial systems from ground operations centers this year than pilots to fly fighter or bomber aircraft, Gen. Stephen R. Lorenz, the commander of Air Education and Training Command, told an audience Friday. Lorentz's remark illustrates the major transformation occurring within that service. In a Pentagon session last month, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Will Fraser told reporters that the unmanned systems are "delivering game-changing capabilities today, and ones that I'm confident will continue to be invaluable in the future."

WASHINGTON — Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud was killed last week in a CIA drone attack while getting a leg massage on the roof of his father-in-law's house, CNN said Monday, citing an unnamed US official. A US counterterrorism official told AFP, meanwhile, that "there are strong indications (Mehsud) is dead" following a drone attack. "No one is expecting him home for dinner tonight," the official said. US President Barack Obama is being told Mehsud was killed after a "dramatic escalation" of nine unmanned drones specifically targeting the Taliban leader in recent weeks, the US official told CNN television. On Wednesday...

The raging conflict in Pakistan does, if one tries hard, seem to have some curious aspects. Take the confusion that often surrounds the announced death of a warlord or the other. More than once someone the authorities have declared to be dead has resurfaced most calmly. It does rather seem like despite all that hi-tech gadgetry employed by the US to “assist” Pakistan, they can’t quite always figure out just who they fired that missile at. Or, perhaps, one is being uncharitable. Given the terrain, suited for guerrilla warfare and with all the bearded, turbaned chaps looking virtually like carbon...

A Taliban leader with a $5 million American reward on his head is thought to be dead from an drone attack in South Waziristan, Pakistan, but a friend says that report is “ridiculous.” Baitullah Mehsud is alive, or he may be dead. See update below. Members of the Mehsud tribe consider Baitullah Mehsud their leader. He is believed to command as many as 20,000 Taliban. So far, reports of his probable death by drone strike have not been disproved. In other words, he has sent no message to prove that he is alive and the West has no concrete evidence...

A successful demonstration of Israel Aerospace Industries' (IAI) Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) System took place last week in Brazil. The demonstration was done at the request of the Brazilian federal police, which is testing UAV use for several purposes, including border security, and smuggling, natural resource theft, and drug trafficking concerns. The demonstration took place under challenging, unpredictable weather conditions in one of the most difficult areas of Brazil to fly in: the state of Parana, and the region of San Miguel de Iguacu. Despite this, the system performed flawlessly in all its tasks, and was able to fulfill...

Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud may have been killed in a U.S. drone attack, a U.S. official said Friday. "There's reason to believe Mehsud may be dead, but there's no confirmation at this time," the official said. Mehsud's second wife was killed early Wednesday in a suspected U.S. drone attack, according to intelligence sources and relatives. The unmanned aerial vehicle targeted the home of Mehsud's father-in-law, Mulvi Ikram ud Din, and dropped two missiles on the residence in northwestern Pakistan, an intelligence official said. Mehsud's second wife was one of two people killed in the strike, according to the sources....

U.S. military leaders have concluded that their war effort in Afghanistan has been too focused on hunting Al Qaeda, and have begun to shift Predator drone aircraft to the fight against the Taliban and other militants in order to prevent the country from slipping deeper into anarchy. ... To try to meet the demand, the military has shifted about eight Predator drones assigned to special operations forces in Afghanistan to conventional forces. It is refocusing them on major insurgent strongholds rather than on scouring remote mountain ranges for suspected terrorists. In addition, the U.S. military's Central Command is planning to...

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has released the first public images and the new name of its Predator C "Avenger" unmanned air vehicle. The pictures reveal a stealthy design powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PW545B; the same engine that powers the Cessna Citation XLS business jet. The UAV's 20m (66ft) wingspan is swept at 17°, allowing a maximum speed of over 400kt (740km/h), General Atomics says. Operating altitude can exceed 60,000ft, the company adds. Further details about specifications and performance are not being released. But company officials acknowledge that a second aircraft is already in production with a 0.61m...

Pfc. Eloy Martinez, 1st Cavalry Division, demonstrates how to properly launch a Raven UAV. Martinez and his partner, Spc. Andrew Larsen, use the Raven to gain aerial intelligence that helps Soldiers in their battalion stay out of harm's way. Photo by Pfc. Justin Naylor, 1st Cavalry Division. KIRKUK — Launching an unmanned aircraft by throwing it in the air really hard might not sound too technologically advanced, but with surveillance equipment and auto navigational systems on board, these easily-deployable UAVs can be the difference between life and death on the battlefields of Iraq. This aircraft, known as a "Raven," is...

At least 40 people have been killed in a suspected US missile strike in north-west Pakistan, local officials say. They told the BBC three suspected US drones had fired missiles at militants near Ladha in South Waziristan. It is the third strike in two days, after 19 reportedly died in attacks earlier on Wednesday and on Tuesday. Separately the Pakistani army said a Taliban leader in Swat valley, Maulana Fazlullah, has been wounded, but there has been no independent confirmation. Army spokesman, Major-General Athar Abbas, told reporters: "We have credible information that Maulana Fazlullah has been injured... But it is...

Seven people have died in a second missile strike by a suspected US drone in as many days in north-west Pakistan, officials and residents say. At least three to four missiles hit a suspected training camp for militants in South Waziristan early on Wednesday, witnesses said. At least 12 militants were killed in a similar attack in the area on Tuesday. The attacks are targeting a stronghold of Pakistan's top Taliban commander, Baitullah Mehsud, in South Waziristan. US officials believe Mr Mehsud is providing both the Taliban and al-Qaeda with a refuge in the region. They have placed a $5m...

A few years from now, bird-watchers may be in for a double take: that flapping creature in the distance? Nope, not a bird. Mutant dragon fly? Nope--it's Darpa's latest unmanned aerial robo-sentinel, inspired by the flight mechanics of birds. The tech company Aerovironment recently won a $2.1 million contract to further their work on the Nano Air Vehicle (NAV). One of many progressive projects from Darpa (the Pentagon's advanced-research unit), the NAV is the first-ever "controlled hovering flight of an air vehicle system with two flapping wings that carries its own energy source and uses only the flapping wings for...

ISLAMABAD: A suspected US drone attack killed 11 people in the South Waziristan tribal region, intelligence officials said on Friday. The two officials say the attack struck a suspected training facility of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan leader Baitullah Mehsud early Friday in the villages of Montoi in South Waziristan. A suspected militant hide-out in Kokat Khel was also hit. ‘The missiles hit an office of Mufti Noor Wali who was once in charge of training militants for suicide attacks,’ an intelligence official said. He had no word on casualties but a resident of the region said 11 militants had been killed. The...

Note: The following text is a quote: Retired University Professor Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Arms Export Violations Involving Citizen of China John Reece Roth, 72, of Knoxville, Tenn., was sentenced to 48 months in prison for violating the Arms Export Control Act by conspiring to illegally export, and actually exporting, technical information relating to a U.S. Air Force (USAF) research and development contract. The sentencing took place in U.S. District Court in Knoxville before Judge Thomas Varlan, Jr. A former University of Tennessee professor, Roth will serve a term of two years supervised release after completing his...

As Northrop Grumman rolls out its first Global Hawk Block 40 aircraft, the high-flying unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program is facing some hurdles. The Office of the Secretary of Defense and U.S. Air Force are ironing out particulars of a delay to the initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) period for the Block 20/30 Global Hawk. Industry and government sources suggest it is likely to be nine months; the original plan was to start IOT&E in August and wrap up in November. Meanwhile, House appropriators are considering a substantial cut to the program in fiscal 2010, according to a program...

The US carried out its second Predator airstrike inside South Waziristan today. Unmanned Predator aircraft killed more than 65 Taliban fighters in a follow-on attack near the headquarters for Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. The Predator strike aircraft fired three Hellfire missiles as Taliban fighters gathered for a funeral of Khog Wali, a leader in Baitullah's army in South Waziristan who was among six Taliban fighters killed in the first US airstrike earlier today. Commander Sangeen, a Taliban commander from Afghanistan, was reported to be among those killed in the strike at the funeral. Predators are said to have fired...

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – A U.S. drone attacked militants in Pakistan in Tuesday, killing at least 45 of them, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

A new Air Force surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft has successfully completed its debut combat mission, military officials said last week. The MC-12 Liberty is a turboprop aircraft with a specialized four-person crew that provides full-motion video and signals intelligence. Essentially, it is a manned, souped-up version of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that roam the skies above Iraq and Afghanistan. The Liberty is "the first of its kind," Air Force Lt. Gen. Gary North, commander of 9th Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Central, said in an Air Force news release. "What our Air Force teams at our various headquarters...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan, June 5, 2009 – An unseen 14-foot guardian patrols eastern Afghanistan day and night, searching for enemies who would wreak havoc on the country. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Nicholas Jones, Sgt. Mitchell Godwin and Staff Sgt. Joseph Pospesel inspect an unmanned aerial vehicle in Afghanistan’s Paktika province, June 3, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Andrya Hill   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, has cameras that function as aerial eyes for the 25th Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team. The UAVs are controlled from the...

Israel to speed up Russia's UAV order May. 24, 2009 Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST Israel plans to expedite production of unmanned aerial vehicles for Russia after Moscow announced last week it had decided to halt the sale of advanced MiG-31 fighter jets to Syria, The Jerusalem Post has learned. Under the $50 million deal, signed in April, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will supply Russia with some of its second-tier UAVs, including the Bird-Eye 400 mini-UAV, the I-view MK150 tactical UAV and the Searcher Mk II medium-range UAV. This is the first Israeli sale of military platforms to Russia....

Reporting from Brussels -- Determined to die as martyrs, the French and Belgian militants bought hiking boots and thermal underwear and journeyed to the wilds of Waziristan. After getting ripped off in Turkey and staggering through waist-deep snow in Iran, the little band arrived in Al Qaeda's lair in Pakistan last year, ready for a triumphant reception. "We were expecting at least a welcome for 'our brothers from Europe' and a warm atmosphere of hospitality," Walid Othmani, a 25-year-old Frenchman from Lyon, recalled during an overnight interrogation in January. Instead, the Europeans -- and at least one American -- learned...

A suspected US drone aircraft fired missiles at militants in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region on Saturday, killing 10 of them including two Arabs, Pakistani intelligence officials said. Two missiles were fired into the Khaisor area of the tribal region at around 08:00 a.m., the security officials said. One missile hit a house, while another struck a nearby vehicle. ‘Ten militants were killed. Two of them are Arabs but we don't know their nationalities,’ an intelligence official in the region told Reuters. Khaisor is about 20 km south of Mir Ali town. It was third such attack this month. This...

A suspected US drone aircraft fired missiles in a Pakistani region on the Afghan border on Tuesday, killing at least eight people, Reuters quoted military and intelligence officials as saying. ‘It was a drone strike on a compound, where militants used to stay before crossing the border or after coming back from Afghanistan. Eight militants were killed,’ one Pakistani security official told AFP on condition of anonymity. A top security official said two missiles were fired killing seven to eight militants around 25 kilometres (16 miles) from Wana towards the Afghan border. ‘Foreigners and local Taliban were assembled there. It...

At least eight persons were killed and seven injured in U.S. drone missile attacks at Sararogha area in South Waziristan Agency (SWA). Sources said that the U.S. drones fired four missiles on one house and madrassa at Sararogha area of South Waziristan, which left at least eight killed and seven wounded. The local people helping themselves recovered eight bodies from under the debris, while seven persons were wounded, sources said.

The possible successor of the U.S. Air Force's MQ-9 Reaper recently made three official flights during testing. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the same company that developed the Reaper and MQ-1 Predator, is responsible for developing the Predator C Avenger unmanned aerial vehicle. The next-generation unmanned aerial vehicle is 41 ft. long and has a 66-foot wingspan, which is slightly bigger than the 36 ft. long Reaper. Most notably, Avenger is jet-powered, allowing it to travel more than twice the speed of Reaper -- Avenger has flown as fast as 460 mph, while Reaper's top speed is 230 m.p.h.

PESHAWAR - At least 10 persons were killed on Wednesday evening when two missiles fired by a US drone hit a house in Kanigoram, a village in South Waziristan Agency. According to initial reports, the house razed to the ground as a result of the strikes, killing around 10 people and injuring several others. The local people have confirmed the report. Agencies add: A local administration official and intelligence officials confirmed the missile strike in South Waziristan. “Those who had been killed in the strike are mostly Taliban militants,” a security official told AFP. “A nearby house was also damaged...

It could be the best Xbox 360 game ever, and a real kick in the ARSS. The U.S. Army is testing the Autonomous Rotorcraft Sniper System (ARSS) — a remote-controlled unmanned Vigilante robot helicopter equipped with a high-velocity sniper rifle. Its RND Edge semi-automatic gun is mounted on a self-stabilizing turret with built-in zoom camera, and fires 7 to 10 precisely aimed .338-caliber rounds per second. Back on the ground, a human directs it using a modified Xbox 360 controller, which plugs into a laptop so that the operator can see what the drone sees.

Three people were killed Sunday in a suspected US missile attack targeting a militant hideout in Pakistan's tribal area bordering Afghanistan, officials said. "It was a drone attack," local administration official Shahab Ali Shah said. He said two missiles hit a house in Gangi Khel town in the tribal South Waziristan district. Another official speaking on condition of anonymity said the attack targeted a militant hideout where three people were killed. He gave no details. A security official confirmed that death toll, saying that five other people were wounded. The targeted house, belonging to a local tribesman, was "destroyed in...

Russia has signed a deal to buy Israeli unmanned spy planes to help the country improve its own drones, reports say.

The US has struck yet again inside Pakistan. The latest attack was aimed at a target in the lawless, Taliban-controlled tribal agency of South Waziristan. An unmanned Predator strike aircraft fired a Hellfire missile at a vehicle in a bazaar in the town of Gangi Khel near Wana. Four Taliban and al Qaeda operatives are thought to have been killed in the strike and four civilians are said to have been wounded, Geo News reported. No senior Taliban or al Qaeda leaders have been reported killed at this time. The town of Gangi Khel is located in the tribal areas...

U.S. envoys met with Pakistani leaders on Tuesday to ensure that the $7.5 billion that President Obama plans to send their way over the next five years will be used to achieve common goals in the fight against extremism. But according to a Pakistani newspaper, regional envoy Richard Holbrooke and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen came up empty-handed and received a "rude shock" when a proposal for joint operations against al Qaeda and Taliban forces in the volatile tribal regions was rejected.

So much for Obama’s promise to repair our alliances! Report: Pakistan rejects U.S. plan, wants drones By Bridget JohnsonThe Hill April 8, 2009U.S. envoys met with Pakistani leaders on Tuesday to ensure that the $7.5 billion that President Obama plans to send their way over the next five years will be used to achieve common goals in the fight against extremism.But according to a Pakistani newspaper, regional envoy Richard Holbrooke and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen came up empty-handed and received a “rude shock” when a proposal for joint operations against al Qaeda and Taliban forces in the volatile...

A suspected US missile strike in north-west Pakistan has killed 13 people, local security officials have said. The apparent drone attack targeted a home in the North Waziristan region near the Afghan border, officials said. The US military routinely does not confirm drone attacks but its forces in Afghanistan are believed to be the only ones in the region with the capability. Pakistan is critical of drone use because, it says, civilians are often killed, fuelling support for militants. It targeted a local tribesman's compound near the region's main town of Miranshah, according to reports. A number of foreign militants...

A pilotless U.S. drone aircraft fired a missile in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing 13 people including some foreign militants, security officials and residents said. The attack was in the North Waziristan region, a stronghold of al Qaeda and Taliban militants on the Afghan border, in an area 35 km (20 miles) west of the region's main town of Miranshah at about 3 a.m. (6 p.m. EDT on Friday), they said. "The missile hit a house where some guests were staying," one intelligence agency official said, referring to foreign militants. "We have information that 13 people were killed including some...

SNIPPET: "FrontPage Interview’s guest today is Ben R. Furman, the FBI's Former Counterterrorism Chief." SNIPPET: "FP: Aren’t we giving the terrorists ideas by talking about this? Furman: Initially I wondered if talking openly about this danger was a good idea. Wouldn’t it be a “heads up” for terrorists? No. A thorough library check and Internet and blog searches revealed the technology wafted out of the genie’s bottle some time ago, and even with technology that advances in quantum leaps, someone is keeping pace and reporting or commenting about it real-time. Chat rooms, YouTube and FaceBook are heavily peppered with “how...

An officer with the 8th Iraqi Army Division studies the body of a Shadow tactical unmanned aerial vehicle prior to its launch during familiarization training conducted by Soldiers of Company A, Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, at Camp Echo, Iraq, March 29. Photo by Sgt. Rodney Foliente. CAMP ECHO — Officers from the 8th Iraqi Army Division participated in familiarization training and a launch demonstration of tactical unmanned aerial vehicles at Camp Echo, Iraq, March 29. Soldiers from Company A, Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conducted the training by reviewing...

The only solid fact emerging from the fanciful "reports" traded between Western and Middle East media over the bombing of an Iranian arms convoy bound for Hamas in January is that Tehran's arms shipments to Hamas via Sinai and the Gaza tunnels continue at full spate. Somehow, as the "reporting" unfolded, the US attacker morphed into the Israeli Air Force. Western imagination outdid itself Sunday, March 28, when the London Sunday Times claimed that Israeli intelligence used drones to bomb the convoy in Sudan, possibly even Eitan UAVs, whose wing span is like that of a Boeing airliner, and that...

Israel used unmanned drones to attack clandestine Iranian convoys in Sudan that were attempting to smuggle rockets into Gaza, Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported. The paper said that western diplomats confirmed that Israel attacked the Iranian truck convoys in late January and the first week of February in the remote Sudan desert, just outside the Red Sea town of Port Sudan. The convoys had been tracked by agents from Mossad, Israel's overseas intelligence agency, the report added.

3/25/2009 - KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- The door to the 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron features a drawing of an MQ-1 Predator armed with Hellfire missiles underscored with the words "We're not drones - we fire back." Often referred to by reporters as "drones," unmanned aircraft like the MQ-1 Predator and RQ-4 Global Hawk are remotely-flown weapons systems flown both locally and stateside from ground stations using satellite uplinks. They're also far more complex than the U.S. military's relatively more simplified radio-controlled drone aircraft used for aerial target practice, according to unmanned aircraft system professionals. For the Airmen flying and maintaining...

3/19/2009 - CAMP BUCCA, Iraq (AFNS) -- "There it is," said Staff Sgt. Jeff Tomkiewicz, 887th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, as he pointed at a little, buzzing white dot in the sky. As the Raven B operator approached the small strip of sand of Camp Bucca's Burge Field, the tiny Raven B unmanned aircraft system hovered above the ground for a moment then unceremoniously fell to the ground, waiting for Sergeant Tomkiewicz to retrieve it. At four pounds and four-and-a-half feet across, the RQ-11B isn't as elegant as the sleek lines of the larger MQ-1 Predator, but it is rapidly...