passend zum UAV-Theam habe ich gerade folgendes gefunden (in kürze und auf deutsch: täglich sind über 300 UAVs unterschiedlicher Bauart/Typen im Einsatz. Die meiste Einsatzzeit verbuchen die "Predators" auf ihr Konto: fast 17.000 Einsatzstunden. Die meisten UAVs sind von den Typen Desert Hawk und Dragon Eye. Vom letzteren sind gegenwärtig ca. 120 im Einsatz, die sich großer Beliebheit erfreuen und es gib Beschaffungspläne von bis zu 1700 Dragon Eyes.):
"...
Iraq:UAVs By The Numbers
A quick summary of
UAV numbers now active in Iraq suggest
over 300 of various types are daily in use there, Maj Gen Rom Sams, USAF’s ISAR director told the UV/North America conference. The systems – operating, he said, in the CENTCOM area – are r
acking up the hours with one chart showing the Predator up to 17,000 combat hours.
Sams says the vehicles now offer such seamless capability that it’s time from the point of view of operational reality to stop categorizing UAVs along the lines of the job they do. ‘Why consider ISAR and operations as different functions. They’re not, they’re interchangeable and it’s time to start trating them as such,’ he said.
Most numerous UAVs are Desert Hawks and Dragon Eyes,
Sams indicated the latter – which are built by Aerovironment -
number about 120 now, but a chart he put up said the
buying plan was up to over 1,700, so popular has the simple hand-launched UAV become in Iraq.
..."
http://www.shephard.co.uk/UVOnline/default.aspx?Action=-187126550&ID=eebf5c4e-c67f-4c28-bd9d-4cfa4104e360
