Using drones: principles, tactics and results (amended title)

[William F. Owen]

Wilf,

P-3's are extensively employed in both Iraq and Afghanistan and are valuable platforms for a variety of functions. The problem is that there are simply not enough ISR platforms to meet demand, P-3's included. I have a friend who is a P-3 pilot and their optempo is quite high.

UAV's have advantages because they can be fielded faster and provide more ISR for a given amount of resources - they have longer loiter times and one can get more flight-hours per aircrew than what you'd get with a manned aircraft. It's also easier to covertly monitor a target with a UAV than a large-multi-engined aircraft. For Afghanistan in particular, lack of ramp space and logistics favor UAV's, especially those operated from distributed locations.

Mate, all good points. Especially the ramp space, and FOB operations.