The News reports about suspected members of the al-Qaeda network are moving out of havens along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border into Somalia have drawn attention again to the US ability to use hi-tech weapons to attack its enemies. According national defense Magazine, "the CIA has been using Predator drones armed with anti-tank missiles in Afghanistan. It is likely that this was the sort of drone used in the Yemen attack. It could have been launched by US forces in Seychelles, or Djibouti, across the Red Sea from Yemen."
On Wednesday, the AP reported that Pentagon is considering dispatching surveillance drones and other limited military support for a Somali government offensive against al-Qaida-linked insurgents, U.S. officials said, and part of a cautious move to increase U.S. assistance to the anarchic African nation. US Defense Department admitted for the first time that it was using armed drones to attack targets which threatened US and British air patrols over southern Iraq.
In the past, drones have been used as a cheap form of aerial reconnaissance which avoided endangering pilots' lives
According National Defense Magazine Editor said "the advantage of using Predator drones in combat was that they could remain in the air for long periods and then respond immediately if they spot hostile targets."
New role in Somalia
According Western Diplomat who refused to be identified said that drones will be able to locate and destroy the key enemy bases and al-Qaeda or Shabab leaders. but Somali ground attack units is needed to occupy the area."
The Somali government forces had been unable to follow up with successful combat missions. Henceforth the capability to attack targets was identified as a valuable addition to the drone's usefulness.
Widely used intelligence tool
The United States is far from being the only country to use drones. Israel is a major producer and user of military drones, using them for reconnaissance of its borders and to gather military intelligence about its Arab neighbors' military capabilities.
In June, Pakistan shot down a drone being used by the Indian military along their border. It is believed that Israel had sold India Hunter and Searcher drones in the late 1990s.
Those UAVs are like very large model aircraft and carry cameras and sensors rather than weapons. Two years ago, the Iraqi news agency reported that the country's air defences had shot down an Iranian drone which had intruded into its air space.
Key weapon against Iraq
The US used drones in the Balkans in 1999 and lost at least one of them due either to hostile fire or control problems resulting from a build up of ice on their wings.
Afghanistan was the first conflict in which drones are known to have been used as weapons platforms.
Now they are being used against al-Qaeda and their use is likely to expand in the future because of their flexibility and because they do not directly put US personnel at risk in attacks on targets.
The shift to Drones would correspond to a more enduring U.S. assurance and the drones could play a major role as part of the US arsenal of so-called smart weapons.\
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