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Unmanned planes: eyes in sky

Marine Corps News

Release Date: 1/29/2004

Story by Sgt. Nathan K. LaForte

YUMA PROVING GROUNDS, Ariz.(Jan. 29, 2004) -- Forward observers are Marines who push ahead of military units to conduct reconnaissance for the main body of Marines coming behind them.

Their objective is to spot out possible enemy units, ambush sites, rough terrain or any other factors that could adversely affect the main unit following their trail.

The job is dangerous because these Marines forge ahead in small groups, trying to get the high ground for the best observation points and hoping to remain unseen by the enemy.

At Exercise Desert Talon, a two-week exercise designed to prepare Marines for another deployment to Iraq, Marines are employing remote-controlled airplanes from Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 to aid the Marine Corps with the dangerous duties of conducting reconnaissance.

The squadron originated at Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command, Twentynine Palms, Calif., in 1987 as the 1st Remotely Piloted Vehicle Company.

The 1st RPV Company proved its worth through over 300 combat missions between 1987 and 1994. In 1994, the 1st and 3rd RPV companies were merged to form the 1st Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Company.

After a few more changes in parent commands and one more change in name, Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 was reassigned to Marine Air Control Group 38 at MAGTF-TC.

The squadron's purpose has evolved over the years to the six-part mission that it has today, said Cpl. Chris Walkotten, UAV internal operator, VMU-1.

"The six missions that VMU-1 performs are reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition, indirect fire adjustment, battlefield damage assessment and rear area security support," said the 23-year-old.

The method of mission accomplishment for VMU-1 is the RQ-2B Pioneer UAV, a 26-horsepower single-propeller, remote operated plane.

The plane only requires few people to operate it.

"To get the plane in the air, it takes an external operator, internal operator and a mission commander inside a portable control station," Walkotten said. "After the (aircraft) is in the air and all the checks are good, the ground control station takes over command."

The crew of the GCS is similar to the PCS except the external pilot is replaced with a payload operator who controls the camera on the plane.

To get the UAV in the air and keep it there, a crew of mechanics and technicians spend hours maintaining the plane after each flight, said Lance Cpl. Christopher L. Rodriguez, UAV airframe mechanic, VMU-1.

"A UAV is just like any other aircraft," the 20-year-old mechanic said. "Any nut, bolt or screw could cause something to go wrong. We make sure that doesn't happen by inspecting the plane, which keeps it going."

"We are responsible for making sure the plane is up before the flight, so it is ready when the operators are," he added.

Aside from operators and mechanics, the squadron has communication and intelligence personnel to analyze and communicate the data collected by the plane, Walkotten noted. There are also support personnel that allow the squadron to sustain itself while deployed, he added.

With all of the personnel, some people would argue that it could be easier to rely on forward observers or to have helicopters complete the missions that UAVs fly. However, Walkotten said this is not the case.

"UAVs are like forward observers in the sky without having a Marine up on a hill somewhere," Walkotten said. "It's an unmanned plane, so if it does get shot down, we're not losing any men. It's also a lot cheaper than losing a helicopter."

He added that the plane has no viable heat signature, so missiles can't lock on to the plane.

If the plane is shot down, it is irrelevant because the damage is already done, said Rodriguez.

"If they blow it out of the sky, it's still too late," he explained. "If they've seen the plane then we have already seen them."

Rodriguez claims that in this way the plane assists the forward observer. He added that this was proven in Iraq.

"The UAVs helped spot out enemy artillery targets, which helped the infantry move as fast as they did," explained the Carson, Calif., native. "They could move fast because they weren't expecting artillery attacks from around each corner."

Walkotten explained that the UAV is an asset that has and will prove itself an invaluable tool to the Marine Corps.

"It is a constant intelligence tool," he described. "We can always use it to report enemy locations to headquarters. In Iraq, we did this while flying in excess of 1,500-hours in seven months."

With this milestone, VMU-1 established two world records in 2003. The first was the record for total flight time in a single fiscal year at 1,523.1 hours. The next was the record for total combat flight hours at 1,414 hours. Both of these records, combined with many other accomplishments allowed VMU-1 to earn the James Maguire Award for exceptional achievement in Marine Corps Aviation. The Marine Corps Aviation Association presented the award to the squadron in 2003.

Walkotten noted that VMU-1 is training harder than ever to get ready for the upcoming deployment.

"In Iraq, we could arrive at a launch site and have a plane in the air in about 3 hours," he said. "We were extremely mobile. Here at Desert Talon, we are training like that," he concluded. "We are training as hard as we can so that when we go back to Iraq, we'll be ready."