Читать книгу Introduction to UAV Systems - Mohammad H. Sadraey - Страница 21

The invasion of Iraq to Kuwait in 1990–1991 allowed military planners an opportunity to use UAVs in combat conditions. They found them to be a highly desirable asset even though the performance of the systems then available was less than satisfactory in many ways. Five UAV systems were used in the operation: (1) the Pioneer by US forces, (2) the Ex‐Drone by US forces, (3) the Pointer by US forces, (4) the “Mini Avion de Reconnaissance Telepilot” (MART) by French forces, and (5) the CL 89, a helicopter UAV, by British forces.

Although numerous anecdotal stories and descriptions of great accomplishments have been cited, the facts are that the UAVs did not play a decisive or a pivotal role in the war. For example, the Marines did not fire upon a single UAV‐acquired target during the ground offensive according to a Naval Proceedings article published in November 1991 [2]. What was accomplished, however, was the awakening in the mind of the military community of a realization of “what could have been.” What was learned in Desert Storm was that UAVs were potentially a key weapon system, which assured their continuing development.