Dakota Beacon

Getting older does have advantages. With modes of technology advancing so rapidly, it becomes possible for folks my age to see the birth of technologies forward into their maturity.

Take drones for example. Toy drones began appearing as household playthings in the 1980s when Japanese toy manufacturers released what is widely credited as the first consumer toy drones. They were simple, remote‑controlled indoor helicopters with a plastic body and a small electric motor.

Remote‑controlled model airplanes certainly existed even prior to that. Radio‑controlled planes flown by hobbyists were popular in the 1950s and 1960s but they were not mass‑marketed as toys.

Sometime around 2009 toy drones advanced to the point where they were Wi-Fi controlled and included cameras. Arguments arose among townspeople over privacy, zoning, and noise requirements. Drones really became a nuisance when they invaded airspace over homes and began peeking in windows!

Drones perform a variety of tasks today both commercial and military. Can you list them? Here are a few of the successful commercial drone tasks.

  -- Used for real estate and marketing.

  -- Inspect and check power lines, pipelines, cell towers, and industrial sites.

  -- Agricultural use in crop surveying, plant health, spraying, and livestock monitoring.

  -- Maps and surveys include creating maps, topographic surveys, and land planning.

  -- Construction to include monitoring site progress, equipment accountability, and safety.

  -- Search and rescue to find people, assess disaster areas, and deliver supplies.

  -- Wildlife tracking, habitat analysis, and water monitoring.

  -- Security includes perimeter patrols, event monitoring, and asset protection.

  -- Disaster response by assessing damage after storms, floods, earthquakes, or fires.

  -- And, of course, services like delivering parcels, medicine, and food.

Now for military drone applications. Monitoring drone technology from its infancy to weaponry reads like a novel. Consuming the news today about drone warfare stands out as science fiction. But it is not fiction. It is real. On the battlefield right application makes all the difference between winning or losing, life or death.

To set the scene, President Trump’s administration prioritized US War Department missions as follows – homeland defense first followed by security of the Western Hemisphere and then the safety of the Pacific. Note that Europe no longer holds top priority. Even so, European defense is still important.

One proposal suggests an expeditionary force of drone units dispatched as needed or stationed in Europe. This offers an economical alternative to keeping large overseas garrisons of infantry and armored units. Mixed drone units, so the proposal goes, are cheaper and can be deployed faster.

Flexible and mobile drone formations can offer an array of options. An Army battalion rapidly deploys drones configured across different payloads such as intelligence collection, electronic warfare, and strike capabilities

Here are some attributes of military drones.

  -- Perform intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.

  -- Finding and choosing targets for precision-guided munitions.

  -- Conducting precision airstrikes with onboard weapons systems.

  -- Jamming communications and supporting cyber‑electronic operations.

  -- Delivering supplies, ammunition, or critical medical materials to remote areas.

  -- Evaluating the effects of strikes or military operations after action has occurred.

  -- Function as flying communication nodes to extend radio networks in remote regions.

  -- Use airborne sensors to detect mines and IED threats safely from the air.

Dollars eventually become a driving factor. The difference in cost between commercial versus military drones reflects their mission. Small commercial drones can cost between $300 to $3,000. Small tactical drones can cost tens of thousands of dollars while large, unmanned aircraft systems can run into the tens of millions.

In the history of warfare, for every weapon there is a counter weapon. Warning! Don’t put all your drones in one basket. The evolution of anti-drone systems could nullify drone warfare. That would put us back to square one.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).