UAVs Are Not the Answer

 

Is using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to patrol the U.S. border with Mexico a good idea?

Recent congressional testimony suggests that it might not be a panacea.

During a hearing last week, Rep. Thompson asked if it costs more to operate a UAV than a manned aircraft. The answer from Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Richard Skinner was surprising.

According to Skinner's written testimony, one UAV requires a crew of up to 20 support personnel. The operating cost is more than double that of a manned aircraft. (The Hermes UAV, for example, costs $1,351 per flight hour to operate. A Cessna 182 with pilot would be about $200 an hour.) A UAV can remain in the air for up to 20 hours, but its usefulness can be limited by cloud cover, icing, and thunderstorms.

AOPA: Congress learns drawbacks of unmanned aircraft border patrols

::  I've said this over and over, using UAVs over CONUS in most cases is a dumb idea.

Using UAVs for border patrol just doesn't add up. Even at $200 per flight hour, DHS could put 6 Cessna 182s into the air for every one UAV. Then add that manned aircraft can see and avoid other air traffic, making them ultimately less of a hazard to other aircraft. (UAVs in general crash 100 times more often than manned planes.) These drones can't even be flown over populated areas, severely limiting their usefulness.

It turns out UAVs aren't much more stealthy than a 182 flying the same profile. (Hermes 450 wingspan = 34.4 feet, Cessna 182 Skylane wingspan = 36 feet.)

If the Border Patrol doesn't have the manpower and the airframes to fill the need... then I have a have a proposal for them.

Let CAP handle it.

We've done it before.

Set up CAP air bases along the border, and rotate crews and aircraft from around the country for week long duty rotations. We've got plenty of people that volunteer a week or two of their time for encampments  and special activities... Calling on them to help out with this job wouldn't be much of stretch.

Count me in for one week every year.

Posse Comitatus? Not a problem. We already fly for ICE on occasion, and the DEA as well.

Fancy Sensors? Our birds have plenty of room for gear.

Our crews are well trained for just this sort of flying. Using CAP as a force multiplier in this role would leverage a underutilized resource. We could cut DHS one heck of a deal. We could save lives, time, and money.

DHS has clearly demonstrated that they have a need. (Go watch the video.)

It's up to us to offer DHS a better mousetrap.

Comments

[RocketPropelled]

Considering how the "Aerial Search and Rescue" mission is gonna get a lot less fun when the 406mHz beacons come into mandatory use, it's a worthwhile endeavor to look into a good use for all these airplanes and aircrews....

Being a set of "eyes in the sky" seems to be a more and more vital resource for more and more reasons -- but I don't see the organization marketing us as such.

[MJ]

I like your suggested resurgence of the CAP Border Patrol--but respectfully suggest that, in spite of the cost savings it would undoubtedly offer, such a proposal will find little support among the "inside the beltway" crowd for one reason: defense contractors won't make any money off it, and Congress needs to throw them all a bone every once in a while.

After two stinging defeats to Lockheed in the F-22 and F-35 contests, Northrop Grumman needs the UAV bone to stay in the game. And that's exactly the point: Congress/DoD *needs* Northrop Grumman to stay in the game.

UAV ALL THE WAY

[NIN]

Here ya go, Six: http://www.estesrockets.com/cgi-bin/products.cgi?view,627

UAV even CAP can love (until the Safety Nazis get their undies in a bunch..)

;)

(that was a joke about the Safety Nazis, lest anybody think I was serious..)

[Unte]

Northrop Grumman is one of the major contractors for both the F-22 and F-35...

[J.E. Carrales]

I think this is a far better idea than the "minutemen." There is prcedent in CAP history.

The RECON exercise can have a varied plank mission...

1) Recon- find and report only the activites of traffic via the US/Mexican/Canadian Frontiers.

2) Humanitarian- Save the lives of Illegal immigrants overcome by the sun and elemets in the Southwest

3) Training- Air Crew practice,

4) Miscel- Fire watch, proficiency,

[Ed]

I think this is a great idea. However, as long as the primary goal at DHS remains creating org chart empires, and as long as there are highly paid lobbyists for firms that stand to make a lot of money providing very expensive solutions, this probably will not happen.

We already do fly border patrol every weekend (Fri-Sun) every year in CAWG. I am not sure we could support expanding this misison with the aircraft and crews we've got - would need more of both.

[MidwaySix]

That CAWG flies border patrol every weekend is great. I'd love to hear more about it. (When I can come down and fly?) Maybe what you're doing could be adapted to meet the expanded needs of the Border Patrol.

If there's one thing I know for sure, it's there are CAP volunteer aircrews that would be happy to come down and help out. Aircrews from nearby wings could even bring their own airframes.

Supporting JTF-Katrina showed how CAP really can surge a sizable air fleet when called to. We can learn from the lessons learn there and apply them to border ops. The skills developed on the border could be applied the next time a massive response like Katrina is called up. Everybody wins

I recently recived intel that this post has caught the attention of NHQ, and that there's support for the idea at upper echelons.

Nothing creates opportunity to bring in more qualified people, and dollars, than MISSION.

So keep the constructive conversation locked on target.

Semper Vi folks!

[BBQ]

Radical idea:

Since there probably isn't enough CAP mission pilots to keep rotating through to keep the border patrols fully staffed, how about we let several dozen USAF pilots get checked out in CAP aircraft?

I don't believe there would be any posse comatatus conflicts with that, since it would still be more of an ISR role than an actual assistance to law enforcement.

And you would get several AF guys willing to do it. Why? They are already getting paid, it would be a good TDY gig for a couple of weeks from their regular AF job, AND Cessna time still counts on a Delta Airlines application, UAV time doesn't.

[John Aylesworth]

Can't beat 'em, join 'em...?

In an article "UAVs Over America" in the 12/19 edition of Aviation week & Space Technology it says, "At least some USAF officials want to use minimally trained private pilots, possible hired by contractors, to fly some of their aircraft instead of highly trained - and expensive - military pilots..." This would be to begin hi-res mapping of the U.S. for the war on terror using UAV's.

This is a made for CAP mission: Non-combatant, related to war on terror, domestic use, and we can do it cheaper.

http://www.avweek.com/publication/awst/loggedin/AvnowStoryDisplay.do?pubKey=awst&issueDate=2005-12-19§ion=Washington+Outlook

[Eclipse]

Now here's one to be worried about...

http://www.smarthome.com/95621.html

The video shows example photos, which are no worse than what we usually get back from
most of our PRO's anyway.

[NIN]

Ha! Bob, I got one of those for Christmas. Its kicks butt, but man, is it HARD to fly.

< ahref= "http://forums.cadetstuff.org/viewtopic.php?t=4352&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0" target="_blank">The Story of the Christmas Recce Plane

[NIN]

oops, bogus link..

Cut/Paste.. it'll work...