Applications for Navy Unmanned Aircraft Systems

There has been tremendous growth in demand for unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) by the United States military since 2001, and the Navy is making large investments in a number of programs, including acquisition of high-altitude maritime surveillance systems, demonstration programs for carrier-capable unmanned combat aircraft, and acquisition of rotary and small fixed-wing tactical UASs. In this book, RAND provides an evaluation of the Navy's ongoing and proposed UAS programs and describes the most promising applications of those UASs to the Navy's operational tasks. The book identifies robust communications as a key enabler for UASs in many operational tasks and recommends steps the Navy can take to ensure these communications are available. Additionally, it identifies some operational tasks that are better suited to manned aircraft and recommends limiting investment in UASs for these tasks.