US Army predicts shift to nearly all unmanned aircraft by 2035: "US Army aviation will shift over the next 25 years to operating mostly unmanned aircraft that will take on new missions, including cargo re-supply, and be equipped with new sensors and weapons, including small lasers.
The army's dramatic shift to a nearly all-unmanned flight over the next three decades is encapsulated in the UAS Roadmap, which was unveiled by Gen Peter Chiarelli on 15 April at the Army Aviation Association of America's annual convention in Fort Worth, Texas.
'The UAS roadmap is not -- and I repeat, is not -- a budget or acquisition policy document,' says Chiarelli, vice chief of staff of the army. 'It is a long range strategic vision.'
The army UAS centre of excellence will update the roadmap every two years so it can adapt as new technology and requirements materialize, he says.
The strategic blueprint leaves unanswered several immediate questions about army aviation. For instance, the army intends to replace the Bell OH-58 Kiowa Warrior with a mix of manned and unmanned aircraft, but the document does not clarify the near-term strategy, which remains under review.
But the roadmap nonetheless outlines a series of ambitious objectives for army aviation. The US Air Force roadmap, by contrast, foresees manned aircraft remaining the principal strike aircraft over the next 30 years.
But the army envisions that technology and a changing culture will allow unmanned aircraft to expand beyond the surveillance and communications relay missions mostly performed today.
By 2035, the army's UAS roadmap predicts unmanned aircraft also will fly nearly all missions for attack, armed reconnaissance and cargo re-supply."
