NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — The Air Force plans to double patrols by armed drones in Iraq and Afghanistan because the unmanned planes can make the difference between U.S. troops "living or dying," the nation's top military officer said Tuesday. Gates had to kick the Air Farce in the ass to get this done.Demand for reconnaissance patrols and attacks from drones is insatiable, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told airmen during a meeting here. There are more than 27 combat air patrols that provide 24-hour coverage, he said, and the military will need 50 patrols.
Mullen's words follow comments from Defense Secretary Robert Gates that the drive to increase drone flights is comparable to Gates' decision to rush Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles to Iraq to protect troops from improvised explosive devices.
U.S. forces in both wars have increased their reliance on drones.
In Iraq, Predator drones have aided Iraqi and U.S. troops fighting Shiite militias in the Sadr City district of Baghdad. In Afghanistan, where the Taliban has launched attacks in the past week, U.S. forces use Predators and the larger, newer Reapers to watch and attack Taliban fighters.
Mullen toured Creech Air Force Base, where the pilots for the remotely controlled aircraft work. Creech is about 50 miles from Nellis.
Demand for real-time video from drones of insurgent activity has been growing at 300% per year, according to the Pentagon.
The Pentagon, Mullen said, has not moved quickly enough to provide what the military refers to as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. Finding and killing insurgents in urban areas without hurting innocent civilians often requires sophisticated drones.
The urgency "comes from years of not coming to grips with the whole issue of" aerial surveillance, Mullen said. "We can't afford that now because people's lives are on the line."
The military will have to ensure that future Air Force pilots who choose careers as drone operators will get promoted, Mullen said.
In an interview with USA TODAY last month, Gates said getting more drones in the air required him to step in, as he did with the armored MRAPs last year.
"The model in some respects that I used with MRAPs is what I have applied to the ISR problem," Gates said. "I just found that the only way to get a lot of these things that are high priority that we need into theater now is for me to take ownership of the problem and galvanize the department."
Gates set up a task force to knock down barriers to getting more drones to the fights. Among the needs: Computer bandwidth, trained crews and linguists to pore over intercepted communication between insurgents.
The payoff can be huge, Gates said. Unmanned aircraft are indispensable in finding insurgents who plant IEDs, the main killer of U.S. troops, Gates said.