UAVs must be less restrictive
November 01, 2009
In one of his last appearances as deputy commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command, Vice Adm. Robert “Bob” Harward spoke about the critical need for leaders to understand and coordinate technology needs for the future.
Harward urged leaders to remain focused on Afghanistan but said they also need to be prepared for more conventional battles.
“It’s important to understand where we are going. We need to be able to do full-motion video monitoring, and I’d like to see us move into wide-area surveillance,” Harward said.
The Obama administration recently nominated Harward to head the new Task Force 435 in Afghanistan, a group that will oversee treatment of prisoners with a goal of purging al-Qaida influence in Afghan prisons.
As for his current job, Harward spoke about the need to make unmanned platforms less restrictive, saying he would like to see UAVs that can launch from any location without using a runway. The technology, he said, would ensure wider support from our allies and allow the U.S. to take the enemy by surprise.
“Any friendly country then would be glad to host us because we could do it in a manner that doesn’t present a signature of U.S. forces in their country because we didn’t need a runway,” he said.
Harward praised Defense Secretary Robert Gates for taking a chance on technology Harward called a “game changer” that can be useful on the battlefield even before it has been “proven.” For example, he briefly described an unmanned platform that is designed to aid in mobility and provide ISR capabilities.
“We can keep young kids off the roads where they are getting attacked by [improvised explosive devices]. It will be a game changer, yet the technology has not quite been proven on the battlefield,” he said.
Harward declined to discuss his new job as head of JTF 435, where he will oversee U.S.-run prisons in Afghanistan and help revamp the American detention policy, saying it would be inappropriate until he takes command.
— Amy McCullough