Movie - "Good Kill" (or 'drones are bad')

A movie about drones in Afghanistan is coming our way. The star of the movie, Ethan Hawke, flies drones over Afghanistan. Evidently he is 'forced' to do this job and has doubts about the legality and struggles with moral issues. In addition, he likely suffers from "drone PTSD"! You can already see where this is going. He has difficulty in doing his day job at his computer console flying drones and then heading home to his family each night. It must be quite a struggle. Read more in an online news article in The Hollywood Reporter published September 10, 2014.

Basing U.S. Drones in Central Asia

With the draw down of ISAF forces continuing in Afghanistan and a strong chance of the "zero option" being implemented due to the Bilateral Security Agreement not being signed the U.S. needs to consider where it will base its drones. Certainly without a troop presence at Bagram, Kandahar, or even Jalalabad it would be risky to station drones at those locations. Perhaps the CIA would take more risk than the military but without a minimal troop presence for support and security it is probably not going to happen. That means the U.S. needs to look north for stationing the drones. The drones would be used in the counter terrorist effort to continue to monitor and neutralize the remnants of al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. There are a few Central Asian countries that might be willing to accept the basing and operation of drones (at a price of course). Read more in "Where in Central Asia Would the U.S. Put A Drone Base?", The Bug Pit, February 17, 2014.

Maintaining and Sustaining America's Legacy Drones

The United States military has an extremely large inventory of small and large drones (the military prefers the name unmanned aerial systems). While some drones (or UAS) are still in use in Afghanistan many are now back in the states. The rapid fielding of these drones into Iraq and Afghanistan now requires a realignment of maintenance and sustainment programs. Read more in "Military Taking a Larger Role in Drone Sustainment", National Defense, March 2014.

US Needs Drone Bases to Hit Targets in Pakistan

One of the casualties of the 'zero option' (no troops left in Afghanistan after December 2014) will be the lack of a base from which to operate the drones or UAVs that strike high-value targets in Pakistan. Currently the drones can operate out of bases in Afghanistan but if the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) is not signed then these drone bases will be closed. Both the military and the CIA operate drones at the current time in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Should the BSA not be signed by either Karzai or the president that is elected in the April 2014 presidential elections then the United States will have to negotiate with other Central Asian countries for the use of a base to launch the Predators or Reapers. Drone attacks into Pakistan are down in the last few years. In 2010 there were about 117 attacks; last year in 2013 there were 28 drone attacks into Pakistan. Read more on this topic in "U.S. seeks new bases for drones targeting Al Qaeda in Pakistan", The Los Angeles Times, February 16, 2014.

Drones, Resolute Support, and Bilateral Security Agreement

All eyes are currently focused on the upcoming Afghan elections scheduled for April and the non-signing of the Bilateral Security Agreement by Karzai. The Bilateral Security Agreement will provide the legal basis for a continued troop presence in Afghanistan beyond December 2014 - which will be called Resolute Support. It is anticipated that the troop level will be 10,000 U.S. and 6,000 NATO. The Resolute Support mission will be two-fold. Counter-terrorism against remnants of al Qaeda and other high value targets and conducting an advise and assist mission  - now called functionally-based Security Force Assistance. An important part of the counter-terrorist mission is providing for a secure base from which to operate and support the use of drones (by both the military and the CIA). Read more on the importance of the ability to stage drones in Afghanistan post-2104 in "How Much is a Drone Base Worth?", The National Interest, January 27, 2014.

An Effective Drone Program for Targets in Pakistan

Michael McBride writes an article posted on the Small Wars Journal dated January 31, 2014 entitled "The Art of Restraining the Knife: Understanding the Limits of Drone Strikes in Pakistan".
http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/the-art-of-restraining-the-knife

Norway Provides Intel for Drone Attacks

A Norway military official has confirmed that Norway provides intelligence information to its NATO partners which may be used in the conduct of drone attacks. See "Norway Provides Intelligence for Drone Attacks", The Nordic Page, December 20, 2013.

UK Drone Base Shows Operation

A Britain drone base has opened its doors to provide insight on the operations. The base, located in Lincolnshire, operates unmanned aircraft in places like Afghanistan. The drone pilots use satellite links to fly missions in Afghanistan; where the drones take off and land from the Kandahar airfield in southern Afghanistan. Britain has hundreds of various types of drones; but most notably, five Reapers that are armed with Hellfire missiles and laser-guided bombs. Learn more about Britain's drone fleet and the operations center in Lincolnshire in "Britain's military drone base opens its doors for cameras for first time", The Telegraph, December 18, 2013.

New Websites on Drones and War on Terror

The organization known as "ProCon.org" has launched a new website about Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and their use in the War on Terror. Learn more in the news release published on December 19, 2013 and visit the drone website that provides facts, history, background, and opposing points of view on the value of the drones in the War on Terror. See http://drones.procon.org/ to view the website.

Drone Strikes Increased in Afghanistan in 2012

The use of drone strikes by aircraft such as the armed Predator and Reaper rose by 72% last year in Afghanistan. The remotely-controlled unmanned aircraft launched 506 strikes in 2012 according to U.S. military data. Targets are identified on the ground by a host of intelligence assets to include live video feed from the attack drones and other supporting unmanned aerial vehicles. Read more on this topic in "U.S. drone strikes up sharply in Afghanistan", LA Times, February 21, 2013.

Afghan Civilians Killed by Drone Attacks Rise

A United Nations report says that the number of civilians killed in drone attacks in the Afghan war rose in 2012. Read more in "More Afghan civilians killed by drones in 2012, U.N. says", CBS News, February 19, 2013.

Drones in Afghanistan

In the last ten years the inventory of drones or unmanned aerial vehicles has increased significantly.  Many of these drones are deployed to the Afghanistan area of operations and are used to conduct surveillance on targets, provide situational awareness during enemy engagements or targeting, and to help defeat the IED networks.  Learn more about drones in Afghanistan at the link below.

http://www.afghanwarnews.info/equipment/drones.htm

CIA Drone Attacks in Pakistan Seen as Less Effective Than Thought

Recent reports indicate that the CIA drone attacks in Pakistan have not been as effective as some had thought.  Very few high-level targets are being taken out and pressure is mounting to restrict the level of drone attacks.  Read more in "Increased U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan killing few high-value militants", The Washington Post, February 21, 2011.

Special Forces Using Grey Eagle Drone in Afghanistan

A recent news blog states that U.S. Army Special Forces are using an armed drone named the Grey Eagle.  See "New cool armed drone for US special forces in Afghanistan", November 24, 2010.