NATO must close capability gaps in its unmanned and ISTAR assets before “quick fix” and short term remedies expire, Stephen Schmidt, former Commander of NATO’s Airborne Early Warning and Control Force Command has warned.
Speaking to MT at the DGI conference on 21 January, Schmidt described how NATO was at a “crossroads” with regards to ISTAR and UAV technology, claiming it was unsustainable in the long term.
“We are at a crossroad and something needs to change,” he explained. “The demand on ISTAR and UAVs is going through the roof and we always want more. We are on the verge of great things but we must tie it all together.”
Quoting former NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Schmidt described how operations in Libya and Afghanistan had identified areas where NATO capabilities in this area had not gone far enough.
“Libya revealed shortfalls in precision guided munitions and ISR assets and we have to take a long hard look at the most effective way to close those gaps,” he said.
Schmidt also quoted an anonymous senior US Air Force (USAF) official who described the service earlier this month as being at breaking point: “What’s different now is that the band-aid fixes are no longer working,” he continued.
Schmidt also warned that the USAF’s 65 Combat Air Patrols (CAPs), each of which comprises three or four Reaper UAV platforms, would not stretch far enough considering military operations are ongoing in multiple theatres including Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, West Africa and elsewhere.
“The USAF achieved 65 CAPs in May but this has already been reduced to 55 because we are not producing enough pilots and too many personnel are leaving,” Schmidt explained while adding that a single CAP also required 30 maintenance personnel and 80 analysts to sustain the operation. “There are not enough analysts out there to sustain this,” he said.
However, Schmidt said NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) programme would change the way NATO does business, saying: “We won’t be able to fight without ISR capabilities like this but the real benefit will be integration. Stovepiping of information won’t help us. But ISR has to be a network and if this is not place, NATO won’t be able to leverage the benefits of NATO AGS."
Schmidt also criticised the lack of unmanned exports to NATO’s partner nations, highlighting how Arab nations for example, could be sold precision-guided munitions but not unmanned surveillance aircraft. “The US can’t sell armed REAPERs even to countries purchasing the Joint Strike Fighter,” he observed.
He also highlighted the Anglo-French Future Combat Air System (FCAS) feasibility project which he described as a good example of the ‘smart defence’ concept which calls for NATO to better prioritise, specialise and seek multinational solutions through cooperation. “This is the best use of NATO resources and provides a model for future modernisation and acquisition,” he said while warning how Russia had been reported as delivering 175 new UAVs to its armed forces in 2014 alone.
“An evolution is needed requiring multinational solutions through cooperation. NATO needs to move from a platform-centric model to a network-based model with information being pushed onto tablets and handheld devices, with enhanced network security,” Schmidt concluded.
Speaking to MT at the DGI conference on 21 January, Schmidt described how NATO was at a “crossroads” with regards to ISTAR and UAV technology, claiming it was unsustainable in the long term.
“We are at a crossroad and something needs to change,” he explained. “The demand on ISTAR and UAVs is going through the roof and we always want more. We are on the verge of great things but we must tie it all together.”
Quoting former NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Schmidt described how operations in Libya and Afghanistan had identified areas where NATO capabilities in this area had not gone far enough.
“Libya revealed shortfalls in precision guided munitions and ISR assets and we have to take a long hard look at the most effective way to close those gaps,” he said.
Schmidt also quoted an anonymous senior US Air Force (USAF) official who described the service earlier this month as being at breaking point: “What’s different now is that the band-aid fixes are no longer working,” he continued.
Schmidt also warned that the USAF’s 65 Combat Air Patrols (CAPs), each of which comprises three or four Reaper UAV platforms, would not stretch far enough considering military operations are ongoing in multiple theatres including Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, West Africa and elsewhere.
“The USAF achieved 65 CAPs in May but this has already been reduced to 55 because we are not producing enough pilots and too many personnel are leaving,” Schmidt explained while adding that a single CAP also required 30 maintenance personnel and 80 analysts to sustain the operation. “There are not enough analysts out there to sustain this,” he said.
However, Schmidt said NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) programme would change the way NATO does business, saying: “We won’t be able to fight without ISR capabilities like this but the real benefit will be integration. Stovepiping of information won’t help us. But ISR has to be a network and if this is not place, NATO won’t be able to leverage the benefits of NATO AGS."
Schmidt also criticised the lack of unmanned exports to NATO’s partner nations, highlighting how Arab nations for example, could be sold precision-guided munitions but not unmanned surveillance aircraft. “The US can’t sell armed REAPERs even to countries purchasing the Joint Strike Fighter,” he observed.
He also highlighted the Anglo-French Future Combat Air System (FCAS) feasibility project which he described as a good example of the ‘smart defence’ concept which calls for NATO to better prioritise, specialise and seek multinational solutions through cooperation. “This is the best use of NATO resources and provides a model for future modernisation and acquisition,” he said while warning how Russia had been reported as delivering 175 new UAVs to its armed forces in 2014 alone.
“An evolution is needed requiring multinational solutions through cooperation. NATO needs to move from a platform-centric model to a network-based model with information being pushed onto tablets and handheld devices, with enhanced network security,” Schmidt concluded.
Andrew White