History Made in Military Aviation
BY Herschel Smith
17 years, 3 months ago
September 1st came and went quietly without any public discourse on what might be a very signficant event in military aviation. An unmanned aerial vehicle scored a kill of two IED emplacers.
The US army has hailed the killing of two suspected insurgents in northern Iraq by a drone as a landmark in combat aviation history.
A statement said that a Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) successfully killed two “unknown enemies” in Nineveh province after ground troops requested backup.
According to the Pentagon, this represented the first time a fully-armed UAV had been launched.
The military claims that soldiers identified two potential bombers at a “major thoroughfare” used by coalition troops.
Before they could deploy roadside bombs – or improvised explosive devices – as suspected, the Hunter was guided in by pilots and its “precise munition” released; killing both men.
But what about those UAVs that loiter and lumber over the battle space searching for Taliban, al Qaeda and other rogue elements to kill? Most of these are CIA or Air Force. The Multinational Force press release states in clearer terms what this day means to aviation history.
A Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle engaged and killed two suspected improvised explosive device emplacers overwatching a major thoroughfare for Coalition Forces during a historic flight near Qayyarah, Iraq, in Nineveh province Sept. 1.
A scout weapons team from 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, observed the two unknown enemy fighters in a tactical overwatch near the roadside. The SWT requested support from the Hunter UAV.
The pilots guided the Hunter operator to the scene where it set up for a strike mission and dropped its precision munition, killing both unknown enemies and marking a first in Army Aviation history.
“It’s very humbling to know that we have set an Army historical mark in having the first successful launch in combat from an Army weaponized UAV,
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