US Air Force ground crew in Kandahar secure weapons to an MQ-9 Reaper drone after its return from a mission. Photograph: Reuters
The Guardian/Reuters: US drone strikes outnumber warplane attacks for first time in Afghanistan
US Air Force data shows unmanned aircraft released 56% of bombs and missiles deployed in 2015, and the trend is rising.
Drones are firing more weapons than conventional warplanes for the first time in Afghanistan and the ratio is rising, previously unreported US Air Force data for 2015 show, underlining how reliant the military has become on unmanned aircraft.
The data show strikes by unmanned aircraft accounted for 56% of weapons deployed by the air force in Afghanistan in 2015, up dramatically from 5% in 2011.
In the first quarter of 2016, about 300 weapons were deployed by the air force, with drones accounting for 61%.
The trend may give clues to the US military’s strategy as it considers withdrawing more troops from the country, while at the same time shoring up local forces who have struggled to stem a worsening Taliban insurgency.
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Update: More than half of US strikes in Afghanistan now carried out by drones: report (i24 News)
WNU Editor: This is the future of warfare .... or at least a good part of it .... we might as well get use to it.
1 comment:
The article is a little sparse on data.
Airstrikes in Afghanistan have generally been CAS.
Drone strikes have generally been part of the "murder progam" in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
So, are drones taking over the CAS role more in Afghanistan, or has the "murder program" been greatly expanded.
The article doesn't say.
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