Airmen demonstrate unmanned aircraft not merely

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Airmen demonstrate unmanned aircraft not merely
drones
Both aircraft can initiate and complete the
killchain. Lt. Col. Scott Miller
Story by Staff Sgt. Zachary Wilson/Photo by Staff
Sgt. James L. Harper Jr. KANDAHAR,
Afghanistan -- The door to the 62nd Expeditionary
Reconnaissance Squadron features a drawing of an
MQ-1 Predator armed with Hellfire
demonstrated to their adversaries on a regular
basis.  (Both the MQ-1 and MQ-9 are
weapons-carrying aircraft,) and both have a
hunter-killer role in
addition to their intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance capabilities, said Lt. Col. Scott
Miller, 62nd ERQS.  The weapons systems
feature a full-motion video camera and a set of
two 500 lbs. laser-guided bombs that allow
operators to not only observe and detect hostile
forces, but also eliminate them if called upon to
do so.   Both aircraft can initiate and
complete the killchain, Colonel Miller said.
With their ability to loiter for long periods of
time over a target, eliminate it, stay on station
and then provide the (bomb damage assessment,)
they provide continuity to a mission and prove to
be invaluable assets.
missiles underscored with the words Were not
drones - we fire back. Often referred to
by reporters as drones, unmanned aircraft
systems 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 UAS
professionals.  For the Airmen flying and
maintaining the lethal Predator and its big
brother, the MQ-9 Reaper, from Kandahar Air
Field, Afghanistan, and Creech Air Force Base,
Nev., the message is
Capt. Ryan Jodoi, a UAV pilot, flies an MQ-9
Reaper while Airman 1st Class Patrick Snyder
controls a full motion video camera at Kandahar
Air Base, Afghanistan.