US will use more unmanned armed drones in Iraq, Afghanistan

The US Air Force (USAF) has said it will double the number of unmanned combat air patrols over Iraq and Afghanistan by the end of next year, using armed Predator drones. The move comes in the background of a troop surge in Iraq, amid intensifying calls for a withdrawal of US armed forces from the war torn country.

Whether the accelerated delivery of Predators is prompted by the surge, or other factors, is not clear. The air force currently uses armed unmanned Predators to fly a dozen round-the-clock combat air patrols over Iraq and Afghanistan everyday. It had planned to increase them to 21 by December 2009, but General T Michael Moseley has moved up the target date by a year.

Predators are unmanned aircraft flown by two to four member crews who operate the aircraft from bases in the western United States. The number of crews will grow from 120 to 160 to meet the demand, the air force said. A spokesman would not say how many Predators would be required.