Our presentation of responses from the commanders of the world’s navies, begun in last month’s Proceedings, continues with more answers to the question: "What do you see as the future uses of unmanned aerial, underwater, and surface vehicles with your navy?"
Vice Admiral J. F. Retief, South African Navy
Much is being said regarding the future use of both unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned underwater vehicles, and the cost effectiveness of such systems. A small force such as the South African Navy, which always is in search of more cost-effective ways to meet its objectives, cannot ignore the advent of these systems.
Within the South African defense industry, much already has been developed and produced in the field of UAVs, both for landward surveillance purposes as well as for use as highspeed targets. As yet no maritime requirement for UAVs has been stated by the South African Navy. The primary seaborne use for such systems would be to augment the surveillance capability of the rather expensive maritime helicopters being acquired for the South African patrol corvettes. Currently no ship-launched vertical take-off and landing UAV has reached maturity. Therefore, the South African Navy's approach is to consider carefully developments around the world and to determine the real cost effectiveness of such a system should it become fully viable. With regard to fixedwing UAVs in the maritime role, initial indications are that the large geographic area to be covered to achieve exclusive economic zone coverage requires a vehicle still far out of the price range of a small nation.
The use of unmanned underwater vehicles for sea-bottom surveillance and for possible mine clearance in the future also is being closely watched. The main impetus for the acquisition of such a system will be its effectiveness measured against its life-cycle cost. A readily apparent advantage is that such systems in the future could provide organic underwater surveillance capability to our patrol corvettes and they also could be used in the mine avoidance role. Current threat indications for the South African Navy rule against the early acquisition of such systems and, as in the case of UAVs, a wait-and-see approach has been adopted while research into the future use of such systems continues.
It is foreseen that in the next decade, with new advances, technology may well bring these systems within the cost-effective range of small navies such as that of South Africa. Admiral Mauro Magalhaes de Souza Pinto, Brazilian Navy
The use of unmanned vehicles in naval warfare preserves lives and saves money. Moreover, they eliminate and minimize eventual incidents involving the capture of vehicles in hostile territory, because of the impossibility of prisoners falling into enemy hands.
Without a doubt, unmanned vehicles are a vital component of the concepts of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR), and network-centric warfare, all essentials for the operational environment of the modern war. The versatility of UAVs allows them to configure themselves. In addition, they can release weapons, as recently demonstrated by the Predator UAV, when launching missiles against terrorist targets in Afghanistan.
Because of these aspects, the advent of unmanned vehicles is a notable element of the revolution in military affairs. Alfred Thayer Mahan would be surprised at the new "members of the crew" represented by mini submarines and surface vehicles, and Billy Mitchell would be equally surprised at the rise of small aerial vehicles. On the other hand, even with the advantages of the technology of unmanned vehicles, the moral uncertainties, quandaries, and the chaos of theaters of operation never will excuse the experience, flexibility, and initiative of the human members of a crew. either on land, sea, or in the air.
The Brazilian Navy recently proposed a new program for the refitting of material, which will configure its aerial, naval, and marine forces until the year 2018. In this program resources for acquisition of unmanned vehicles are not contemplated. This does not mean, however, that the operation of such vehicles will be discarded until this date. The navy of future, which will operate in the next generation, will not be able to maintain itself at a distance of that technology and should seek the ostensible job of those vehicles, whose operation will find daily application not only in the military way, but in the civilian.
Nowadays, the Brazilian Navy operates only targets and drones, their jobs restricted to training. Unmanned vehicles currently employed are the submarine target EMATT Mk-39 (Expendanble Mobile ASW Training Target) of North American manufacture, and the aerial drone Banshee (see picture above) of English manufacture, for antiaircraft warfare training of the naval forces. The Brazilian Navy does not have unmanned surface vehicles in operation, just towing targets.