Dr. Norman Friedman’s Unmanned Combat Air Systems takes a theoretical approach
to addressing the role of pilotless aircraft in tomorrow’s Navy. Friedman’s
discussion focuses on the concept of the unmanned combat air systems (UCAS)
operating in swarms involving multiple aircraft cycling to and from their host
carrier. They cooperatively utilize their sensors in a networked environment, increasing
processing power to determine the optimum means to engage a target.
According to Friedman, humans will have a decreased role in this environment in
making operational employment decisions, as “control is distributed between the
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).” Friedman contends that while individual UAVs
have limited ordnance and fuel, the swarm as a group represents a “sustainable air
presence capable of mounting strikes as they are required” (p. 4).
The heart of Friedman’s argument is that current airpower applications require
aircraft to spend much of their time transiting to mission areas, resulting in pilot
fatigue. Unmanned aircraft operating in a primarily autonomous mode do not
require a human pilot, so fatigue is not a factor—a distinct advantage over their
manned counterparts. Without the pilot and associated life-support systems, more
fuel and ordnance can be carried. Further cost savings accrue from the lack of
training mission requirements.
A valuable inclusion in Unmanned Combat Air Systems is the comprehensive
inventory of military air vehicles. This appendix is the largest single section of the
book and provides a detailed breakout of each nation’s combat air vehicles.
Unmanned Combat Air Systems attempts to expound on the future role of
UCASs in the US Navy. The author’s ideas of networking sensors together in
a collaborative environment, while interesting, is not new. The text is repetitive
and appears to lack focus with topics, such as repeated discussion of pilot fatigue
While this reviewer acknowledges the book is theoretical, the author falls short of
proving his point by repeatedly using phases such as “would most likely be able to”
or “probably.” While there is certainly no definite conclusion as to what combat
capabilities a UCAS will bring to the battlefield, a more affirmative presentation
of the author’s theory would have strengthened his case.
Additionally, the book is marred by conceptual errors. When presenting the
idea that a UCAS is better for air-to-air missions, Friedman sights how a “lack of
pilot judgment proved disastrous in the 1988 Vincennes incident” (p. 7) where the
“problem reflected unstated assumptions in the way in which the fighter’s cockpit
displays [used to display position information] worked” (p. 54). The USS Vincennes
was a Navy surface warship that shot down an Iranian civilian airliner, not an airplane
with a pilot. Thus, it is unclear how a lack of pilot judgment resulted in the
shoot down or if this example makes a UAV less suited for this mission.
Friedman’s UCAS argument is also flawed in the air-to-ground arena, where he
claims that in “actual warfare” future UAVs would be well suited for this mission
because weapons “are guided to set coordinates” (p. 7). This concept is counter
to the human role in providing safe deconfliction when troops are in contact.
Friedman later appears to contradict this earlier argument when discussing the
accidental bombing of Canadian troops in Afghanistan, noting that most targets
in Afghanistan are “pop-ups” and that this is the most likely scenario in the future:
hard-to-identify pop-up targets. He offers no solution as to how a UCAS would
solve this problem and only notes that the target will be “far less difficult . . . as
long as systems like GPS work” (p. 54).
While exposing the reader to the theoretical concept of US Navy carrier aviation
becoming primarily UCAS-based, Unmanned Combat Air Systems disappointingly
falls well short of its target. The work appears to both repeat and contradict itself.
The author’s arguments are not clearly presented, thus leaving the reader confused.
The appendix on the world’s military combat air vehicles is helpful but does not
overcome the flaws in the earlier text. Bottom line, the book fails to convince the
reader that “Unmanned Combat Air Systems” are “a new kind of carrier aviation.”
Lt Col Daniel J. Simonsen, USAF, Retired
Ruston, Louisiana
SSQ
to addressing the role of pilotless aircraft in tomorrow’s Navy. Friedman’s
discussion focuses on the concept of the unmanned combat air systems (UCAS)
operating in swarms involving multiple aircraft cycling to and from their host
carrier. They cooperatively utilize their sensors in a networked environment, increasing
processing power to determine the optimum means to engage a target.
According to Friedman, humans will have a decreased role in this environment in
making operational employment decisions, as “control is distributed between the
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).” Friedman contends that while individual UAVs
have limited ordnance and fuel, the swarm as a group represents a “sustainable air
presence capable of mounting strikes as they are required” (p. 4).
The heart of Friedman’s argument is that current airpower applications require
aircraft to spend much of their time transiting to mission areas, resulting in pilot
fatigue. Unmanned aircraft operating in a primarily autonomous mode do not
require a human pilot, so fatigue is not a factor—a distinct advantage over their
manned counterparts. Without the pilot and associated life-support systems, more
fuel and ordnance can be carried. Further cost savings accrue from the lack of
training mission requirements.
A valuable inclusion in Unmanned Combat Air Systems is the comprehensive
inventory of military air vehicles. This appendix is the largest single section of the
book and provides a detailed breakout of each nation’s combat air vehicles.
Unmanned Combat Air Systems attempts to expound on the future role of
UCASs in the US Navy. The author’s ideas of networking sensors together in
a collaborative environment, while interesting, is not new. The text is repetitive
and appears to lack focus with topics, such as repeated discussion of pilot fatigue
While this reviewer acknowledges the book is theoretical, the author falls short of
proving his point by repeatedly using phases such as “would most likely be able to”
or “probably.” While there is certainly no definite conclusion as to what combat
capabilities a UCAS will bring to the battlefield, a more affirmative presentation
of the author’s theory would have strengthened his case.
Additionally, the book is marred by conceptual errors. When presenting the
idea that a UCAS is better for air-to-air missions, Friedman sights how a “lack of
pilot judgment proved disastrous in the 1988 Vincennes incident” (p. 7) where the
“problem reflected unstated assumptions in the way in which the fighter’s cockpit
displays [used to display position information] worked” (p. 54). The USS Vincennes
was a Navy surface warship that shot down an Iranian civilian airliner, not an airplane
with a pilot. Thus, it is unclear how a lack of pilot judgment resulted in the
shoot down or if this example makes a UAV less suited for this mission.
Friedman’s UCAS argument is also flawed in the air-to-ground arena, where he
claims that in “actual warfare” future UAVs would be well suited for this mission
because weapons “are guided to set coordinates” (p. 7). This concept is counter
to the human role in providing safe deconfliction when troops are in contact.
Friedman later appears to contradict this earlier argument when discussing the
accidental bombing of Canadian troops in Afghanistan, noting that most targets
in Afghanistan are “pop-ups” and that this is the most likely scenario in the future:
hard-to-identify pop-up targets. He offers no solution as to how a UCAS would
solve this problem and only notes that the target will be “far less difficult . . . as
long as systems like GPS work” (p. 54).
While exposing the reader to the theoretical concept of US Navy carrier aviation
becoming primarily UCAS-based, Unmanned Combat Air Systems disappointingly
falls well short of its target. The work appears to both repeat and contradict itself.
The author’s arguments are not clearly presented, thus leaving the reader confused.
The appendix on the world’s military combat air vehicles is helpful but does not
overcome the flaws in the earlier text. Bottom line, the book fails to convince the
reader that “Unmanned Combat Air Systems” are “a new kind of carrier aviation.”
Lt Col Daniel J. Simonsen, USAF, Retired
Ruston, Louisiana
SSQ