CURRENT STATE
   ver the past decade, unmanned systems have played an increasing role in U.S. military
operations. DoD uses a vast array of unmanned systems, from underwater to the upper regions
of
the atmosphere, from the size of a matchbox to the size of a Boeing 737.
These unmanned systems continue to prove their value in combat operations in Afghanistan,
where military operations are planned and executed in extremely challenging environments.
Adversaries are
fighting using increasingly unconventional means, taking cover in the
surrounding populations, and employing asymmetric tactics to achieve their objectives. In
future
conflicts, we must be prepared for these tactics as well as a range of other novel methods,
including so-called "hybrid" and anti-access approaches to blunting U.S. power projection.
Unmanned systems will be critical to U.S. operations in all domains across a range
both because of capability and performance advantages, and the ability to
take greater risk.
As unmanned systems have proven their worth on the battlefield, DoD has allocated an
increasing percentage of its budget to developing and acquiring these systems. Table 1 below
reflects the budget request allocated to the three unmanned domains: air, ground, and
maritime.
Table 1. 2011 President's Budget for Unmanned Systems ($ Mil)
FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 Total
RDTE 1,106.72 1,255.29 1,539.58 1,440.57 1,296.25 6,638.40
PROC 3,351.90 2,936.93 3,040.41 3,362.95 3,389.03 16,081.21
OM 1,596.74 1,631.38 1,469.49 1,577.65 1,825.45 8,100.71
6,055.36 5,823.59 6,049.48 6,381.17 6,510.72 30,820.32
FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 Total
RDTE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
PROC 20.03 26.25 24.07 7.66 0.00 78.01
OM 207.06 233.58 237.50 241.50 245.96 1,165.60
227.09 259.83 261.57 249.16 245.96 1,243.61
FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 Total
RDTE 29.69 62.92 65.72 48.60 47.26 254.19
PROC 11.93 45.45 84.85 108.35 114.33 364.90
OM 5.79 4.71 3.76 4.00 4.03 22.28
47.41 113.08 154.32 160.94 165.62 641.37
FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 Total
RDTE 1,136.41 1,318.21 1,605.29 1,489.16 1,343.52 6,892.59
PROC 3,383.86 3,008.63 3,149.32 3,478.96 3,503.36 16,524.12
OM 1,809.59 1,869.67 1,710.75 1,823.15 2,075.44 9,288.59
6,329.86 6,196.50 6,465.36 6,791.27 6,922.31 32,705.30
Unmanned Funding ($ Mil)
All Unmanned
Domain Total
Fiscal Year Defense Prog
Fiscal Year Defense Prog
Fiscal Year Defense Prog
Fiscal Year Defense Prog
Domain Total
Air
Ground
Domain Total
Maritime
Domain Total
Although unmanned systems have experienced widespread growth in funding, current world
economic conditions and DoD initiatives necessitate increased efforts and focus toward the
acquisition of affordable and convergent systems. DoD must continue to support diverse
mission
sets and capabilities, but must focus on acquiring Joint and interoperable platforms, systems,
software, architecture, payloads and sensors due to today's increasingly austere fiscal
environment. In addition, the ability for commanders to take risks with unmanned vehicles
depends significantly on their cost. In order             expendable, which is often the intent of
building an unmanned system, the vehicl                        e importance of procuring
common platforms with core C2 systems                              will yield enormous
collective benefits by reducing training cos                        chain diversity, improving
availability, and offering a cost-effective procuremen            xploiting the benefits of scale
and software/technology reuse.
The cost overruns, schedule slips, and sustainability issues of unmanned systems cannot go
unnoticed or unanswered. Operational T&E is not sufficient for addressing budget, schedule,
and
sustainment issues in unmanned systems acquisition. WSARA 2009 guidance set the stage for
   evelopmental T&E as a key factor in T&E strategy to address Milestone A and B
Unmanned system T&E must not only consider physics effects but other areas
   have an effect on algorithm development such as human factors, autonomous functionality,
peering, collaboration, and autonomy-driven, red-team-based T&E limit testing. The goal to
gradually reduce the degree of human control and decision making required for the unmanned
portion of the force structure will mean

                                                                                                   for Battlespace Awareness, Force Application,
Protection, Logistics, and Building Partnerships. Although assessments have not yet been
completed for the Force Support and Net Centric capabilit             missions and tasks in those
JCAs receive significant support from unmanned syste
Current technology and future advancements can and                        latforms to perform a
variety of missions across multiple capability areas. Thi                  pportunity for the
Department to achieve a greater return on investment. Furthermore, the projections show that
there
will be opportunities or joint systems to conduct missions for each of the Services, just as there
will be situations                        domain conditions or Service missions will dictate unique solutions.
Detailed descriptions       ach of the systems identified for the capability areas, including
specific
tasks, performance attributes and integrated technologies can be found at the Unmanned
Warfare
Information Repository site: https://extranet.acq.osd.mil/uwir/. Below are the descriptions for

3.2.3 Protection
Protection has particular unmanned systems applicability to assist in attack prevention or
effects mitigation. Unmanned systems are ideally suited for many protection tasks that are
deemed dull,
dangerous
   or dirty.
As the future enables greater automation with respect to both
navigation and manipulation, unmanned systems will be able to perform tasks
such as firefighting, decontamination, forward operating base security, installation security,
obstacle construction and breaching,
vehicle and personnel search and inspection, mine clearance and neutralization, sophisticated
explosive ordnance disposal, casualty extraction and evacuation,
and maritime
interdiction. In the Protection JCA teaming
3.2.4 Logistics
Wasp US Air Force BA ISR/RSTA
RQ-11B Raven US Army BA ISR/RSTA IV(T) Production
Puma AE USSOCOM N/A ISR/RSTA, FP III Production/Sustainment
Scan Eagle
US Navy , US
Marines N/A ISR/RSTA, Force Protection
RQ-7B Shadow
US Army, US
Marines BA ISR/RSTA, C3, Force Protection II Production
S 100 USSOCOM N/A ISR/RSTA, EW, Force Protection III Design &Development
STUAS RQ-21A
US Navy , US
Marines BA ISR/RSTA, EOD, Force Protection III Design &Development
Viking 400 USSOCOM N/A ISR/RSTA, EW, Force Protection III Design &Development
MQ-5B Hunter US Army N/A ISR/RSTA, C3, Log, PS/TCS, FP N/A Other
MQ-1C Gray Eagle US Army BA ISR/RSTA, C3, Log, PS/TCS, FP I D Production
MQ-1B Predator US Air Force BA ISR/RSTA, PS/TCS, FP I D Sustainment
MQ-8B VTUAV US Navy ISR/RSTA, ASW, SUW/ASUW, I C MS-C
MQ-4 BAMS US Navy ISR/RSTA, EW, PS/TCS, SUW/ASUW, FP I D Design &Development
MQ-9A Reaper US Air Force FA ISR/RSTA, EW, PS/TCS, FP I D Production
RQ-4A Global Hawk US Air Force BA ISR/RSTA, C3, PS/TCS I D Sustainment
RQ-4B Global Hawk US Air Force BA ISR/RSTA, C3, PS/TCS I D Production/Sustainment
MR UAS US Navy N/A TBD N/A Concept
UCLASS US Navy N/A TBD N/A Concept
MQ-X US Air Force FA ISR/RSTA, PS/TCS, FP N/A Concept
Group 4 US Marines N/A TBD N/A Concept

                                                                      dull, dangerous, or dirty

Magus Magnus' work sources poetry and "the poetic" as central both to the extremes of interiority (thought, philosophy) and exteriority (performance, deed). His published books include The Re-echoes (Furniture Press Books 2012), Idylls for a Bare Stage (twentythreebooks 2011), Heraclitean Pride (Furniture Press Books 2010) and Verb Sap (Narrow House 2008). Magnus' Poets Theater work has been presented in D.C., Alexandria, Baltimore, New Orleans, and New York. Current projects include a book on the ancient Roman emperor Heliogabalus and the conceptual writing/theater piece excerpted here for Really System, drone: poetic monologue for monotone. Several of Magnus' poems and an Idyll appear in the latest two editions of Pearson Longman's English anthology textbook, Literature. Magnus lives in the D.C. metro area with his wife, Manya Magnus, their daughter Hero, and son Gryphon.