Uninhabited Combat Aerial Vehicles in 2015

The purpose of this monograph is to prove that by 2015 uninhabited combat aerial vehicles will have reached a level of capability at which they will be of utility to the joint force commander. This is important to the military to understand because the United States Air Force is going to begin fielding uninhabited combat aerial vehicles in large numbers by that time. Because these uninhabited combat aerial vehicles are going to end up augmenting or replacing other weapon systems in the joint combatant commander's list of force options, the United States military needs to know if they will be useful. The author concludes that not only will uninhabited combat aerial vehicles be of utility, but they will be highly sought after. Because of this predicted increase in interest in and dependence on UCAVs, the United States military must be ready to employ these UCAVs properly by: first, educating joint force commanders and planners about their increasing capabilities and inherent limitations and, second, ensuring their integration into the common operational picture systems and tactical data links of the near future.