Bird's eye view: surveillance drone operators find ways to outsmart enemy.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: UNMANNED SYSTEMS

A burgeoning fleet of unmanned aircraft is among the Army's key weapons against Iraq's insurgency. But the technology alone Is not enough to gain an edge over this enemy, experts say.

While not a tactical panacea, these unmanned platforms are providing an unprecedented degree of situational awareness.

Tactical surveillance drones--particularly those with high endurance and long-range sensors--can be valuable as information-warfare weapons. But to really benefit from the technology, operators must not only be proficient at piloting the aircraft, they also need to be deft at developing tactics on the fly.

In this conflict, UAV pilots are appreciating the importance of being "tactically astute," says Col. John D. Burke, director of Army unmanned aviation.

Soldiers in Iraq operate a range of aircraft--from the 2,000-pound Hunter and the 350-pound Shadow, to the hand-launched 4.5-pound Raven.

Commanders often rely on these aircraft to loiter over areas where they suspect insurgents may be hiding, interacting with the population or seeking to bury explosives along roadsides.

What you want to do is "pattern analysis," Burke says in an interview with defense reporters at the Pentagon.

UAV operators and analysts are like "policemen on the beat," Burke says. Attempting to track insurgents who plant roadside bombs is much like chasing drug dealers, he notes. Ideally, the aerial surveillance can help determine where the bombers come from, what road patterns they drive and where they stockpile explosives.

Having eyes over these areas for extended periods also gives commanders intelligence on insurgent behavior after an explosion or following a U.S. strike, Burke says. "Battle damage assessment is a key mission" for unmanned aircraft.

Imaginative commanders have used Ravens in counterintelligence roles. "They fly it out, and fly it back, to see what I look like to the enemy," Burke says. "Marines have strapped chemical lights on the wings to let the enemy know we are still watching."

But whatever advantages U.S. commanders may gain from flying UAVs over a particular area often are short-lived, because insurgents react to the increased surveillance by changing their tactics. Nevertheless, a relatively large drone such as the Shadow can be seen from the ground and often deters enemy action.

On the other hand, insurgents can gain their own intelligence from these drones. Early in the conflict, Burke relates, when a combat division would end its tour of...