JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Virginia — Faced with escalating aggression from Russia and China, the Pentagon is planning to increase its use of drones by about 50 percent over the next several years.
The Pentagon decides to add Army and civilian-operated missions to the mix because the Air Force, which had been running about 65 combat air patrol missions a day, asked to decrease that number to 60 to reduce stress on the force. But 60 patrols don’t come close to meeting the demands of top military commanders facing growing security threats around the world.
In this July 9, 2015, file photo, then-Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford, Jr., testifies during his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing to become the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
Senior US officials say that while drones have been used largely to target terrorists and collect intelligence over combat zones, those needs may shift in the coming years.
Top military leaders, including the incoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, name Russia as the nation’s most serious security threat. And China’s rising military power and island-building program in the South China Sea increases tensions and prompts a greater demand for US surveillance and intelligence across the Pacific.
— AP
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