But who's flying the plane? Integrating UAVs into the Canadian and Danish armed forces

TY - JOUR

T1 - But who's flying the plane?

T2 - Integrating UAVs into the Canadian and Danish armed forces

AU - Schaub Jr, Gary John

AU - Kristensen, Kristian Søby

PY - 2015/6/9

Y1 - 2015/6/9

N2 - North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members such as Canada and Denmark have transformed their military forces to better engage in expeditionary warfare. They are incorporating advanced technologies to find and strike targets precisely from great distances at little risk to themselves. The persistence of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) represents the next step in modern airpower's long-range reconnaissance/precision strike complex and has transformed ground operations. Nonetheless, operational requirements in Afghanistan caught Canada and Denmark flat-footed. Ultimately, Canada effectively used UAVs while Denmark could not. Moreover, neither state has a UAV capability beyond small tactical systems (although each has plans to develop or join in the development of larger ones). The Canadian and Danish experiences suggest that ground forces are most likely to acquire and integrate small UAVs into their force structures and concepts of operation and that the air forces of small- and medium-sized Western countries will likely do so only in cooperation with others. It is here that the Canadian and Danish UAV paths may yet again cross.

AB - North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members such as Canada and Denmark have transformed their military forces to better engage in expeditionary warfare. They are incorporating advanced technologies to find and strike targets precisely from great distances at little risk to themselves. The persistence of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) represents the next step in modern airpower's long-range reconnaissance/precision strike complex and has transformed ground operations. Nonetheless, operational requirements in Afghanistan caught Canada and Denmark flat-footed. Ultimately, Canada effectively used UAVs while Denmark could not. Moreover, neither state has a UAV capability beyond small tactical systems (although each has plans to develop or join in the development of larger ones). The Canadian and Danish experiences suggest that ground forces are most likely to acquire and integrate small UAVs into their force structures and concepts of operation and that the air forces of small- and medium-sized Western countries will likely do so only in cooperation with others. It is here that the Canadian and Danish UAV paths may yet again cross.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - UAV

KW - unmanned aerial vehicle

KW - Transform

KW - air force

KW - airpower

KW - NATO

KW - innovation

KW - weapons acquisition

KW - Afghanistan

KW - Canada

KW - Denmark

U2 - 10.1177/0020702015572765

DO - 10.1177/0020702015572765

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0020-7020

VL - 70

SP - 250

EP - 267

JO - International Journal

JF - International Journal

IS - 2

ER -