ianstone
02-26-2010, 11:01 AM
US plans 75pc increase in drone operations (http://livepakistan.com/news/?p=1426)
5048
February 3rd, 2010 |
WASHINGTON: The US defence budget for 2011 seeks more funds to enhance drone operations by 75 per cent, citing its success in targeting militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s tribal belt.
“With this funding, we will increase the unmanned Predator and Reaper orbits from 37 to 65, while enhancing our ability to process, exploit and disseminate information gathered by this game-changing technology,” said Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.
“As we’ve seen firsthand through eight years of war, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets are absolutely critical enablers for the war-fighter,” he said.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, while briefing journalists on the 2011 budget, said the new drones would be added to the American military’s arsenal “in a couple of years” and these would be “the most advanced UAVs”.
On Monday afternoon, the Pentagon sent a $708 billion defence budget proposal to Congress, reflecting a shift in the US military strategy from conventional wars to counter-insurgency.
The three separate requests include the $548.9 billion fiscal 2011 base budget, $159.3 billion fiscal 2011 overseas contingency operations proposal and the $33 billion fiscal 2010 supplemental.
The counter-insurgency budget funds US operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. The supplemental covers costs of implementing President Obama’s new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The budget also allocates funds for more helicopters in Afghanistan and for adding two more army combat aviation brigades. US special operations forces will also be increased with 2,800 more commandos.
The budget “provides our troops what they’ll need to complete a responsible drawdown in Iraq and execute the president’s strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” said Admiral Mullen.
Secretary Gates noted that “achieving our objectives in Afghanistan and Iraq has moved to the top of the institutional military’s budgeting, policy and programme priorities”.
“America’s ability to deal with threats for years to come will depend importantly on our success in the current conflicts,” he said.
Although the $3.8 trillion budget President Obama announced on Monday is the third budget in a row with a deficit of more than $1 trillion, it boosts the defence outlay by 3.4 per cent over the 2010 enacted level.
Failing states
The Pentagon’s budget and strategy include a new emphasis on preparing to deal with failed or collapsing states by boosting security assistance, through weapons and training, with an additional $150 million.
“In a world where, arguably, the most likely and lethal threats will emanate from failed or fractured states, building the security capacity of partners has emerged as a key capability for us,” said Mr Gates.
The Pentagon also will continue to work overseas to try to halt the flow of weapons to dangerous regions and will add funds to US nuclear weapons and infrastructure to modernise an ageing arsenal needed to deter nuclear states.
The fiscal 2011 budget requests additional steps to fill what Mr Gates called “persistent shortfalls that have plagued recent military efforts, especially in Afghanistan”.
These include accelerated training of Afghan national security forces; $1 billion to complete a mine-resistant, ambush-protected programme, $3.4 billion to sustain protective programmes for US forces; and $1 billion for the Commander’s Emergency Response Funds.
The Quadrennial Defence Review, also released on Monday, reflected the budget’s emphasis on counter-insurgency, lists China as one of America’s main “potentially hostile” nations, along with North Korea and Iran.
The new strategy abandons the decades-long policy of maintaining large numbers of troops and weapons that could fight two major regional wars at the same time, for example in the Middle East and Asia.
The immediate priority of US military strategy will be the “substantial” forces in Afghanistan and Iraq as Pentagon believes that the conflicts “will substantially determine the size and shape of major elements of US military forces for several years”.
“In the mid- to long-term, we expect there to be enduring operational requirements in Afghanistan and elsewhere to defeat Al Qaeda and its allies,” the report said.
My comment
These drones are proving invaluable, as seen in the last three weeks. They are respected and loved by coalition forces. More importantly they are respected and feared by the enemies of freedom.
5048
February 3rd, 2010 |
WASHINGTON: The US defence budget for 2011 seeks more funds to enhance drone operations by 75 per cent, citing its success in targeting militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s tribal belt.
“With this funding, we will increase the unmanned Predator and Reaper orbits from 37 to 65, while enhancing our ability to process, exploit and disseminate information gathered by this game-changing technology,” said Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.
“As we’ve seen firsthand through eight years of war, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets are absolutely critical enablers for the war-fighter,” he said.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, while briefing journalists on the 2011 budget, said the new drones would be added to the American military’s arsenal “in a couple of years” and these would be “the most advanced UAVs”.
On Monday afternoon, the Pentagon sent a $708 billion defence budget proposal to Congress, reflecting a shift in the US military strategy from conventional wars to counter-insurgency.
The three separate requests include the $548.9 billion fiscal 2011 base budget, $159.3 billion fiscal 2011 overseas contingency operations proposal and the $33 billion fiscal 2010 supplemental.
The counter-insurgency budget funds US operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. The supplemental covers costs of implementing President Obama’s new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The budget also allocates funds for more helicopters in Afghanistan and for adding two more army combat aviation brigades. US special operations forces will also be increased with 2,800 more commandos.
The budget “provides our troops what they’ll need to complete a responsible drawdown in Iraq and execute the president’s strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” said Admiral Mullen.
Secretary Gates noted that “achieving our objectives in Afghanistan and Iraq has moved to the top of the institutional military’s budgeting, policy and programme priorities”.
“America’s ability to deal with threats for years to come will depend importantly on our success in the current conflicts,” he said.
Although the $3.8 trillion budget President Obama announced on Monday is the third budget in a row with a deficit of more than $1 trillion, it boosts the defence outlay by 3.4 per cent over the 2010 enacted level.
Failing states
The Pentagon’s budget and strategy include a new emphasis on preparing to deal with failed or collapsing states by boosting security assistance, through weapons and training, with an additional $150 million.
“In a world where, arguably, the most likely and lethal threats will emanate from failed or fractured states, building the security capacity of partners has emerged as a key capability for us,” said Mr Gates.
The Pentagon also will continue to work overseas to try to halt the flow of weapons to dangerous regions and will add funds to US nuclear weapons and infrastructure to modernise an ageing arsenal needed to deter nuclear states.
The fiscal 2011 budget requests additional steps to fill what Mr Gates called “persistent shortfalls that have plagued recent military efforts, especially in Afghanistan”.
These include accelerated training of Afghan national security forces; $1 billion to complete a mine-resistant, ambush-protected programme, $3.4 billion to sustain protective programmes for US forces; and $1 billion for the Commander’s Emergency Response Funds.
The Quadrennial Defence Review, also released on Monday, reflected the budget’s emphasis on counter-insurgency, lists China as one of America’s main “potentially hostile” nations, along with North Korea and Iran.
The new strategy abandons the decades-long policy of maintaining large numbers of troops and weapons that could fight two major regional wars at the same time, for example in the Middle East and Asia.
The immediate priority of US military strategy will be the “substantial” forces in Afghanistan and Iraq as Pentagon believes that the conflicts “will substantially determine the size and shape of major elements of US military forces for several years”.
“In the mid- to long-term, we expect there to be enduring operational requirements in Afghanistan and elsewhere to defeat Al Qaeda and its allies,” the report said.
My comment
These drones are proving invaluable, as seen in the last three weeks. They are respected and loved by coalition forces. More importantly they are respected and feared by the enemies of freedom.