BAGHDAD — Uunmanned aerial vehicle are being used to greater effect by the U.S. military in Iraq.
The Pioneer UAV, for example, has been operated by the Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Squadron 2 in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion of that country in 2003, Middle East Newsline reported.
The UAV has used its forward-looking infrared camera
to detect insurgents during night operations. In one recent mission, the
Pioneer relayed real-time video of insurgents planning a roadside bomb
attack.
"During [that] mission we saw three individuals digging in the ground
next to a road," Lance Cpl. Andres Lazo, an intelligence analyst with VMU-2,
said. "We followed them to a vehicle where they drove around and stopped in
a field. We were able to watch them get out and run within a few hundred
yards from the road."
Later, Marines from a tank company, guided by Pioneer surveillance,
investigated the area and found a bomb planted near a building meant to be
examined the following day.
The Marines operate two UAV platforms throughout the Anbar province near the
Syrian border, regarded as the core of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq.
Officials said the Pioneer, designed and manufactured by the state-owned
Israel Aircraft Industries, has been used in Marine operations in Anbar,
including the search for Al Qaida network chief Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi. The
Pioneer has been used in night missions to relay intelligence,
reconnaissance and surveillance support to field commanders.
"We provide surveillance with our Pioneer aircraft that can be used as a
big advantage on the battlefield," Staff Sgt. George Noll, an external pilot
with VMU-2, said. "We put eyes on what normally couldn't be seen. We are
able to give troops on the ground the ability of seeing around the next bend
or behind a house they are getting ready to search."
The Pioneer has been in service since the 1980s and is one of two UAVs
used by the Marines. The squadron also operates a smaller unmanned aircraft
called ScanEagle, a recent addition to the unit's inventory.
