Flying partners: Army, Air Force to operate armed drones in tandem.

• Author: Jean, Grace V.
• Position: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

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As the Army prepares to deploy a new weapons-capable unmanned aircraft to the Middle East, it is solidifying plans with the Air Force to better coordinate the operation of combat drones.

The responsibility of flying medium-altitude unmanned aircraft in Iraq and Afghanistan has fallen largely to the Air Force, whose pilots and sensor operators have been controlling the MQ-1 Predator and its larger and more lethal variant, the MQ-9 Reaper. The systems have helped ground forces track down insurgents and assess battle damage.

The drones have worked so well in the counterinsurgency that the demand from ground forces far exceeds the supply of available aircraft. In an effort to fill the gap, the Army has begun flying several medium-altitude systems from the same manufacturer that produces the Predator. Commanders in the coming year will begin operating the Army's newest variant, the MQ-1C Sky Warrior, in earnest.

Built by San Diego-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., the Sky Warrior is based on the MQ-1 Predator system. Sitting side by side, the two aircraft look identical, but they have only 15 percent commonality, Army officials say. The Sky Warrior has a longer wingspan and fuselage than the Predator and it weighs in at 3,200 pounds. Driven by a Thielert heavy fuel engine, it flies faster, higher and farther than the Predator and it doubles the precision strike capability of the MQ-1 with four Hellfire missiles.

Though comparable in size and appearance to the Predator, the Sky Warrior system has more in common with the MQ-9 Reaper--the larger Predator version that is armed with bombs and missiles, says Chris Ames, director of business development at General Atomics. Like Reaper, Sky Warrior has triple redundant avionics and flight control systems and dual redundant flight control surfaces--which means it has increased reliability and better survivability in combat--along with an automatic take-off and landing system.

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The Army plans to outfit its 11 combat aviation brigades with 12 Sky Warrior aircraft apiece. Twelve additional vehicles would be fielded to a training unit, says Col. Randy Rotte, deputy director of Army aviation.

In April, the Army deployed several Sky Warrior aircraft to Iraq where contractors are flying the system. In the coming year, the service plans to deploy four additional Sky Warriors.

Though the Army and Air Force drones have similar capabilities, each service operates them differently.

The Air Force flies Predators from ground control stations located in the United States. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the aircraft fall under the direction of the joint forces commander, who then allocates the missions that each will execute during flight.

The Army, on the other hand, flies its...