UAV Use in Afghanistan and Iraq Wars

The Use of Unmanned Air Vehicle
(UAVs) in the War on Afghanistan
and the War on Iraq
Mohammed Dayraki
104357965
Engineering, Military, & Society
06-88-590-10
Instructor:
Dr. Graham Reader
Leading Teaching Assistants:
Lorraine Grodin
Shouvik Dev
Kelvin Xie
Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering
University of Windsor
401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4

THE USE OF UAVS IN THE WAR ON AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR ON IRAQ
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The Project “The Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the War on Afghanistan
and the War on Iraq” and its content is the Original Work of Mohammed A. Dayraki
(104357965).
Signature: ________________

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Abstract
The project talks about the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in both wars on Afghanistan
and Iraq. Its goal is to focus on the types of drones used and types of missions those
drones had. Starting with meaning of war, this paper highlights the history of weapons
used in major wars and then states the reasons lying behind wars. It also gives a glimpse
about the unmanned aerial vehicle and why are they sometimes used instead of normal
manned jets. AUVs are subsystems assembled together to act as a whole system and
while reading the paper, a lot of components will be introduced and explained. Types of
UAVs such as the Predator and the Shadow 200 are brought into the paper as examples
of drones used in the war on Afghanistan and Iraq. And by summing up, the author talks
about the future of drones and some ethics related to the use of these drones in the
battlefield.

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List of Contents
ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
AIM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
A LOOK INTO WAR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
THE FLASHBACK OF WEAPONS IN USE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
WHY WAR? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
THE WAR ON AFGHANISTAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .9
THE WAR ON IRAQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
WHAT IS A UAV? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
WHY UAV’S? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
UAV SYSTEM COMPOSITION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
TYPES OF UAVS USED IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
SPECIFIC MISSIONS ACCOMPLISHED BY UAVS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
CONCLUSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .23
MAP OF AFGHANISTAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
MAP OF IRAQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
APPENDIX A: UAV DESIGN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
APPENDIX B: UAV SYSTEM – FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
LIST OF REFERENCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..29
LIST OF DEFINITIONS, SYMBOLS, & ABBREVIATIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

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Introduction
“War does not determine who is right. Only who is left” Bertrand Russell said. Although
The Use of UAVs in the War on Afghanistan and the War on Afghanistan doesn’t
go deep explaining this quote, this project opens the mind for the why and the how it
determines who is left. Going back in time, killing another human needed a man 5 feet
away with a sword to stab him. After that, rifles were created the ability to kill from
distance made it easier to kill because people are not witnessing the death directly
anymore. Today, the operator sitting behind the chair is not even recognized by the
victim but even though, killing is killing no matter what. The only difference is that the
more far you are, the safer you feel, and the easier to kill. This is war.

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Aim
The purpose of this project is to explain the components of an unmanned aerial vehicle,
to list the drones used in the war on Afghanistan and Iraq, and to specify unique
missions held by them.

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A Look into War
People talk about war in the terms of a right or a wrong thing. Others think that having
war comes from a moral judgment or a moral tradition. War itself is another world apart
from the world we are living where life is at stake and where there is no humanity. In
war, people do what they have to do to satisfy their selfishness. “In time of war the law
is silent” [1]. As the famous proverb says, “All’s fair in love and war” and this means
there’s no rules in love and war.
People can be faithful or faithless, they can be giving or receiving, they can be calm or
angry. In cases of love and war, betrayal is an option and seduction is an option too.
When we come for the question about the definition of war, we imagine death as an
answer. War means killing people without distinction of age, sex, or moral condition.
War means death without taking into consideration who’s right or who’s wrong. War
itself is a crime without looking deeper into that word.
The Flashback of Weapons in Use
“In order to attack the enemy’s strategy, we must understand the enemy and we must
understand war” Sun Tzu said [2]. This means that before going into war, we need to
take our time studying wars, their reasons, and how to deal with them in addition to
studying our enemy’s strength point, weakness points, gates, and walls. Technology
throughout history played a big role in defining what is violent and what is not. It raised
up our ability to assassinate and kill without the knowledge of the other part. The unique
thing about warfare technology is that it doesn’t kill its ancestor. A bronze age knife can

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still kill and so does a sniper or a drone. But we the humans seek more complex
weapons to make sure we are secure while we attack.
In the dawn of history, warriors started their battles using their bare hands to fight the
enemy. Upon picking up the first stone to hit the opponent, man realized that weapons
can be used to help with winning a fight. As a result, he started sharpening this stone for
more violent and more damage and by the time learned to throw the stone to increase
the safety of himself. Thus, killing from a distance was created so that the attacker will
be in the safety zone.
Why War?
When we took a look into war, we found that war itself is a crime. To have a wrong
result, we should have irrational reasons. There are three major reasons for humanity to
have wars through history. Starting with religion, this reason for war has been
considered a rational and convincing reason in the history of wars. Sometimes, wars
happened just to increase the size of population of one relation or decreasing another.
Most of the time, it’s done not by the choice of the leader but by the thought that a
higher authority is ordering that. Agreements in these cases are not taken into
consideration because the problem is the well-being and not this actions, according to
the attacker. One example is the Palestinian - Israel long-standing conflict. The problem
in this conflict is that no one can find an agreement to satisfy the two sides and this is
because the two sides believe that the other side’s presence is the problem and not his
actions.

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Another reason is revenge and by revenge, I don’t mean the repeated game of
punishments. Revenge is that emotion that goes behind irrational reasons for fights and
wars because it includes actions pushed by anger for things happened in the past and
not by strategies or real-time problems.
Ethnic cleansing is the third reason history witnessed. It shares the religion the taste of
having a larger social cake. This type of ideologies is not convincing and don’t have a
reasoned choice. Hitler wanted to dominate the world because he believed that his race
was had the right to do so. A lot of agreements failed including Munich Agreement and
that was because he wasn’t trustworthy. The failure of all the agreements was a result
of his believe that was “Me or no-one”.
As the letters shared between Einstein and Freud [4] shows that wars are act of human
nature. People seek power and are famous for willing to control and not to be controlled.
Like everything, there’s a group of people who are able to do so because of their
intelligence. This type of people controls schools, commercials, and press making it
easier to organize and sway the emotions of the masses turning them into tools.
Another reason was Right and Might which is being right and violence. Laws and rules
are created by those who were violence to prove themselves right. Thus, one is
developed out of the other. People in nature tend to prove themselves that they are right
and this happens by arguments and facts. If things didn’t work, some people turn into
violence or into what others may say “By Force” to prove that they are right.

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The War on Afghanistan
Washington asked the Taliban to surrender and give Bin Landen but Mullah Omar
refused again after the first refuse in 1998. As a result, president Bush went to
Congress. Then Congress then gave the permission as followed: To use all necessary
and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines
planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on
September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any
future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations,
organizations or persons.
The United States started its air attack on October 7, 2001. By the end of October, the
CIA started operating aligned with the Northern Alliance and the Pashtun tribes.
Pakistan had put its in hand in the war were it had to support the religions Mujahideen
groups at first. After pressure from the U.S, Pakistan changed its path to provide logistic
space and equipments for the states to go to war. The two phases of “Enduring
Freedom” consisted of the conventional fighting and evolved insurgency. The first one
had a network of military operations between Northern Alliance, Tajiks, Hazarra,
Uzbeks, and anti-Taliban Pashtun forces against Taliban and al Qaeda. The U.S
supported this phase by airpower contribution and advice from the SOF and CIA. They
also maintained a close relation between “Massoud” and the Northern Alliance.
Operation Anaconda, the last battle in phase one broke up a strongpoint in the Shahi
Kot valley and weakened the unity of the Taliban’s command.

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The first phase conventional operations ended in success without being decisive. The
U.s and its allies didn’t destroy the enemy and they didn’t capture Osama bin Laden or
Mullah Omar. The United Nations held a conference in Germany where the U.S and its
allies didn't invite Taliban saying that it doesn’t sit with the allies of al Qaeda. The
conference resulted in forming a government without Taliban participation in it with
Hamid Karzai as a president.
In 2002, Afghanistan was in the worst 10 countries with socio-economical problems
where it almost had no human capital to build on. $5 billion were given from the
international community as an aid but it didn’t meet the country’s need. To give a hand
to Afghanistan, Aid donors and NGOs had to work with a weak government but that
developed a serious problem. The assistance controlled that government and
Afghanistan became dependent on the supplies given.
Taliban started to build its groups again from 2002 to 2005 using drug money and
donations from the Gulf states and al Qaeda. By the end of 2005, Taliban, the Hwezb-
Islami, and the Haqqani Network worked together. Taliban started offending around the
world to spread its influence where it affected the security worldwide and increased the
suicide bombing.
The War on Iraq
Bush administration highlighted Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction after 9/11 and put

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Iraq, Iran, and North Korea on the axis of evil in January 2002. In august 2002, Vice
President Cheney charged Iraqi president Saddam Hussein with holding weapons of
mass destruction to take control of the Middle East and threaten U.S oil supplies. This
would take the States to act violently against Iraq.On October 16, authorized use of
force against Iraq was given from the U.N Security Council.
Starting in January 2003, the U.S began its military increase in the Persian Gulf
showing that it’s getting ready for an attack. on January 14, the President of U.S said
that “time is running out” [6] adding that he was sick and tired of the games and
deceptions done by the Iraqi President. On January 28 ,2003 president bush said “With
nuclear arms or a full arsenal of chemical and biological weapons, Saddam Hussein
could resume his ambitions of conquest in the Middle East and create deadly havoc in
the region.” He added that Iraq “aids and protects” Al Qaeda terrorist organization.
On March 17, and after long discussions between the United States, the United
Kingdom, Spain, France, Germany, China, and Russia; the U.S, Spain, and the U.K
announced that they were ready for a military conflict with Iraq and President Bush went
on television said that unless Saddam Hussein fled Iraq within 48 hours, this will result
in “Military conflict commenced at the time of our own choosing.” On March 19, aerial
attack against a location where Saddam Hussein was suspected to be meeting with
Iraqi officials was done. The U.S and British military stepped on the land of Iraq on
March 20. By April 9, the marines gained control of Baghdad, the Capital after a huge

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resistance. On April 15, President Bush said that “the regime of Saddam Hussein is no
more”.
What is a UAV?
An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is an automatic intelligent vehicle able to
communicate with its controller returning payload data, position, airspeed, heading and
altitude using the satellite and the internet. UAVs are famous in ‘housekeeping data’
and it is a specific type of data including the amount of fuel in a drone and the
temperatures of components. UAVs are also well known in taking corrective actions in
case of errors and the also alert their operators in such events. The drone for example
may search for a radio beam and try to regain contact in case of radio communication
failure.
Intelligent UAVs may also act in many situations under the condition of If-else programs.
UAVs are also known to be called “uninhabited air vehicle” to show that these types of
vehicles are manned but remotely. This means that the drone itself is under control of a
human and it’s not acting by its own.
Why UAVs?
UAVs are created so they will overpower manned jets in many cases. Depending on
what the situation is, designers decide whether to create a manned or unmanned
vehicle. Unmanned Vehicles in general are created for the roles of dull, dirty, or
dangerous (DDD).

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In dull cases such as long surveillance or intelligence time, aircrew will spend a lot of
hours without relaxing resulting in loss of concentration and mission effectiveness.
Using drones in these missions will provide recorded video, radar scanning, and thermal
vision in addition to being cheaper in operation. Operators will work in shift-job making
the mission itself in success. In dirty places such as nuclear environment or chemical
spaces, the crew might be at risk of being toxicated. UAVs don’t need air and the
detoxification of them will be easier than normal jets. In dangerous missions, manned
jets have the probability of going down more than UAVs. UAVs are difficult to be
detected or be strikes with anti-aircraft fire due to their smaller size and stealthier tech.
Aircrew in many missions lose their concentration while being under the threat of being
shot down or being captured. In UAV missions, the operators have no personal threat
so they can concentrate more on the mission itself. In the civilian field, drones can help
in power-line inspections and forest fire control without putting any human under the
danger of being killed. In extreme weather conditions, flying a jet will be dangerous on
the crew so using drones in such conditions will be a lot safer.
Stealth missions are a need in many operations not to alert the enemy. Through UAVs
and their undetectable abilities, these operations are achievable. Going into alien
territories is sometimes against the international border laws especially in case of
peacetime. Diplomatic embarrassment can be decreased in case of detecting a UAV
instead of a normal jet. Not to forget that UAVs produce less emissions and noise, this
makes them eco-friendlier than normal manned aircrafts. Power-lines are usually placed

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near civilians’ houses and using manned planes or choppers will be noisy but UAVs fly
using soundless engines making them better to use. UAVs are considered cheaper than
manned aircraft because of their maintenance cost, fuel cost and hangarage costs. The
operators are paid lower also and insurance is a lot cheaper.
UAV System Composition
The UAV is composed of many sub-systems that are not isolated from each other. All of
the sub-systems work together making a whole system which is intelligent but
dependent.
Control Station (CS)
The CS is center of all the operations and it’s from where the operator controls the UAV.
CSs are found on the ground, on ships, or sometimes in an airborne aircraft. CS are the
stations where missions are planned in usual cases. The operator uses a
communication system to link up wit the UAV and controls its flight and actions. The
UAV in return send videos and information about the mission live.
The Payload
Payloads varies not only from a drone to drone by from a mission to mission. Some
payloads are simple consisting of video camera with fixed lens with 200 g of mass.
Other has greater range with longer focal length to zoom and gyro stabilizers that would
weight between 3 to 4 kg. Some payloads can be heavy to 1000 kg. Some more
sophisticated UAVs carries more than one type of sensor to improve the information or

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to provide more than one type of image and data. As an example, a payload can send
optical and thermal images with radar scanning.
The Air Vehicle
Each mission determines the type of air vehicle needed. The vehicle itself has a primary
role of carrying the payload to the position needed and returning it. The operating range
effects the design of the aircraft as well as its stepped and endurance. Long time
missions ask for more fuel and thus they need bigger designs with long wings to carry
out the weight. Some missions ask for hovering or low speed vehicles especially
surveillance and intelligence missions. Other missions need vertical take-offs and
landings and this effects the design of the vehicle. Compounded helicopters add wings
to the rotor enabling it to achieve higher speed while moving. Some UAVs are
convertible where they can take off and land vertically with the ability of endurance and
this is achieved by upgrading the rotor making them tilting horizontally and vertically
upon need.
Navigation System
Knowing the position of the UAV at anytime is necessary for both the operator and the
UAV itself. This will tell the operator if the drone is in position and will help the lead the
drone to ‘return to base’ when commanded. Global positioning system (GPS) is one of
the systems used for earth-satellites tracking. They are light in weight and cheap white
continuous positional updates. When there’s a risk of blocking the GPS, other systems
are used. One of them is the radar tracking and it works on the radar transmission

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emitted from the CS. Radio tracking is another way and it is applied when the CS sent a
radio signal and calculate its time to travel and return. The third system is direct
reckoning and with the help of the velocity vectors and time elapsed, the position of the
UAV can be calculated. Other ways is done by comparing the geographical features
with their known positions on a map can help in figuring out where a UAV is.
Launch Equipment
Some UAVs don't have the ability to launch vertical and can’t access a runway of
suitable surface and length. As a solution, a ramp with rubber bungees and compressed
air can be used to push the drone until it can sustain the airspeed of airborne flight.
Recovery Equipment
UAVs not capable of vertical flight can’t be recovered or can’t land in case of no runway.
Using parachutes, airbags, and replaceable frangible material can be a solution where
the aircraft will designate its landing zone, upon the parachute and deploy the airbags
for less damage.
Communication
Communication system is a major system in a UAV where up-link and down-link
between the CS and UAV will be established. Most frequently, the transmission used
will be in a form of light to make it as fast as possible. The transmission from the CS to
the drone is called uplink and this provides flight path, real-time flight control
commands, and commands to payload. The transmission from the UAV to the CS is

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called downlink and this provides position info, images from the payload, and
housekeeping information.
Types of UAVs Used in Iraq and Afghanistan
There’s no clear data or reference to any specific type of drones used in the war on Iraq
or the war on Afghanistan. Actually, the military doesn’t give to the press any type of
information about the attacks and strikes established. From the information collected,
some UAVs had a major impact in the war on Iraq, Afghanistan, and even in the Gulf
war and some assassinations in Pakistan. UAVs like the Predator, Global Hawk, the
Pioneer were key players along with the Hunter, the shadow, and the Dragon Eye. Both
the U.S military and the Britain Ministry of Defense learned that these UAVs can change
a war.
The Predator
Name: RQ-1 / MQ-1 Predator
Role: Remote Piloted Aircraft
Manufacturer: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
First Flight: 3 July 1994
Introduction: July 1995
Status: In Service
Primary User: United States Air Force
Produced: 1995 - Present
Program Cost: US $2.38 Billion (2011)

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Unit Cost: US $4.03 million (2010)
An upgraded version of the Predator UAV carries a Multispectral Targeting System
(MTS) with AGM-114 missile with targeting capability of electro-optical, infrared, and
laser designators in one single sensor. It can’t carry both a MTS and a synthetic
aperture radar together but can put 2 more laser guided missiles. This unmanned
vehicle can fly from 84 mph up to 135 mph and has a range up to 454 miles with ceiling
of 25,000 carrying a payload of 450 pounds. It has the ability to operator for 24 hours on
the altitude of 15,000 feet.
The Dragon Eye, on April 4, targeted a large Iraqi Army formation going out of Baghdad
Name: RQ-4 Global Hawk
Role: Surveillance UAV
National Origin: United States
Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman
First Flight: 28 February 1998
Status: In Service
Primary User: United States Air Force, NASA, NATO
Program Cost: US $10 billion (2014)
Unit Cost: US $ 131.4 million
The Global Hawk is a surveillance UAV used in near-real-time battles. Its high altitude
flights help it cover large geographic areas with high resolution. This UAV has the ability

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to taxi, take off, fly, return, and land autonomously. Operators monitor the drone’s health
and status and control the payload during the mission itself. The Global Hawk has a
wingspan of 116 feet and is 44 feet long. It can go far to 12,000 nautical miles and high
to 65,000 feet. It ca reach about 400 mph and last for 35 hours. During a mission, the
Global Hawk can image an area of 40,000 nautical square miles in just 24 hours
imaging 200 to 300 sites on a single maneuver.
The Dragon Eye
Name: RQ-14 Dragon Eye UAV
Role: Remote controlled UAV
Manufacturer: AeroVironment
First Flight: June 2001
Introduction: Mid-2002
Primary User: United States Marine Corps
The Dragon Eye is a small UAV designed to detect threats for units. It is fully
autonomous launched with hand UAV. Dragon Eye UAVs can fly with altitudes of 300 to
500 feet with excessed video range till 5 kilometers. Providing it with electric motors, the
UAV has a low noise signature and its small size makes it hard to detect. It’s battery can
go up to 60 minutes
The Shadow
Name: RQ-7 Shadow

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Role: Tactical Reconnaissance UAV for ground maneuver forces
Manufacturer: AAI Corporation
First Flight: 1991
Introduction: 2002
Status: Active, in Production
Primary User: United States Army
Unit Cost: US $15.5 million (2011) per system
US $750,000 (2011) per aircraft
The Shadow 200 is a gasoline engine UAV. It can carry electro-optic/ infrared imaging
sensor payload and can fly away to 31 miles with 4-hour flight. This UAV was used by
the 4th infantry Division.
The Raven
Name: RQ-11 Raven
Role: Remote Controlled UAV
Manufacturer: AeroVironment
First Flight: October 2001
Introduction: May 2003
Status: In use on combat field
Primary Users: United States Army, United States Air Force, United States Marine
Corps, United States Special Forces
Produced: 2004 – Present

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Unit Cost: $173,000 per system (Including 4 UAVs. 2 GCS and spare parts)
The Raven is a six-pound hand-launched UAV. It can fly up to 6.2 miles at altitudes of
500 feet with a speed covering 60 mph. The Raven can fly for 60-80 minutes.
Specific Missions Accomplished by UAVs
A Predator had an air fight with an Iraqi MiG-25 before the MiG fired two air-to-air
missiles and shot it down. The Predator, that was equipped with air-to-air stingers, had
the ability to fire two of them in response while transmitting the real-time video to the
operator. This encounter showed that Predators are detectable and they have limited
self defense against in air fights.
A Predator killed by mistake some Afghan scrap metal collectors near Zhawar Kili in
February 2002 because one of them was similar to Osama bin Laden. Another incident
happened in March 4, 2002 in Operation Anaconda when a CIA Predator destroyed a
Taliban bunker when an F-15 and F-16 were unable to do it. April 6, 2011 is the date of
the first friendly fire a Predator have. In Iraq, a group of Iraqis intercepted a predator
video but couldn’t encrypt it. They used a Russian software called SkyGrabber.
On April 4, a Dragon Eye witnessed a large formation of Iraqi Army going out of
Baghdad in the middle of the night. It then passed the data to Marine Combat Operation
Center displaying them in a real-time stream and provided grid coordinates to F/A-18s
and AV-Bs to attack that formation.

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Another accident happened on 15 August 2011 when a US Air Force C-130 collided
with a Shodow 200 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. As a result, the C-130 had an
emergency landing with two damaged engines and one wing while the RQ-7 was
completely destroyed. Reports indicated that the C-130 had a taking-off without
clearance. On 3 April 2014, a National Guard Shadow UAV crashed beside an
elementary school in Pennsylvania while training and no injuries were reported.
The Raven UAV became a popular UAV after Iran captured and claimed two RQ-11.
One of them in Shahrivar September 19, 2011 and the other in Aban November 20,
2012. Most of the drone’s data has been decoded, Iran reported but there’s no evidence
if it has been duplicated like the RQ-170 and the ScanEagle.

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Conclusion
In conclusion, the era we’re living these days is the era of drones and AUVs. Scientists
say that we only cover about 8% of the UAV technology and 92% is ahead. A lot of
prototypes have been built for UAVs producing 30 kW with different engine types
including the IC Engine: Turbo shaft and going deep in electric power UAVs and Fuel
Cell Technology. This will lead to higher efficiency than any other fossil-fuel-based
technology, modular and easy install equipment, zero-emission devices, and zero to low
noise with exceptional vibrations. Two of the future UAVs will be the AeroVironment
HELIOS and the Qinetiq ZEPHYR.
Another major study includes Artificial Intelligence. This science started in 1930s and
includes two approaches. One of them is developing neural networks similar to that of
the human brain. The second approach is increasing the performance of human brain
by using high speed CPUs. Unfortunately, none of both is successful but some systems
are relying on database to determine right and wrong decisions. Those systems are
used in the UAVs navigation and strike systems.
Out of the engineering life, a man should take into consideration ethics behind the use
of UAVs. To start with, we should consider the laws of Just War to determine when a
war is just, legal, and ethical. These principles are divided into 2 sets which are the jus
ad bellum principles and the jus in bello principles. The first type decides whether it is
morally permissible to go to war where the other one shows how war should be fought.

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From my point of view, the use of drones in wars might be a little unfair especially when
we consider that the enemy doesn’t have capability to react and defend himself. A lot of
assassinations in Pakistan while a group of people were sitting doing nothing or
chatting. Another thing is that it’s always hard to decide if this group of people are acting
in a ‘terrorist’ way or not especially when monitoring them from far skies without
analyzing their intensions. Stereotyping people is a wrong assumption and acting upon
stereotyping will always be a wrong action. Not all girls who put makeup and wear
dresses are prostitutes, not all boys who wear baggies and are bald are gangsters, not
all people with pistols are bad guys, and not all those with beards are terrorists.
Terrorism was never and never will be an act under a religion, gender, race, or
nationality. Terrorism is an act of personality and ignorance.

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Map of Afghanistan

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Map of Iraq

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Appendix A: UAV Design
1¶ Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Antenna 18 Battery Assembly
2¶ Inertial Navigation System/GPS 19 Alt Equipment Bay Tray
3¶ Ku-Band Satellite Communication Antenna 20 Secondary Control Module
4¶ Video Cassette Recorder 21 Synthetic Aperture Radar
5¶ GPS Antennas (Left and Right) 22 Primary Control Module
6¶ Identification Friend or Foe Transponder 23 Front Bay Avionics Tray
7¶ Ku-Band Satellite Communication Sensor Processor Modem Assembly
8¶ C-Band Upper Omni-directional Antenna Bracket 24 Receiver/Transmitter
9¶ Forward Fuel Cell Assembly 25 Flight Sensor Unit
10¶ Alternative Fuel Cell Assembly 26 Video Encoder
11¶ Ancillaries Bay 27 De-ice Controller
12¶ Ancillaries Cooling Fan 28 Electro-Optical Sensor
13¶ Oil Cooler/Radiator 29 Front Bay Payload Tray
14¶ Engine 30 Ice Detector
15¶ Tail Servo (Left and Right) 31 SAR Receiver/Transmitter
16¶ Battery Assembly 32 Nose Camera Assembly
17¶ Power Supply

28
Appendix B: UAV System – Functional Structure

29
List of References
Walzer, Michael. Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations.
ISBN 978-0-465-05270-7. Fifth Edition. Basic Books. 1977.
Schnitzer, Eric. Perfecting War: Searching for the Silver Bullet. Center for Strategy and
Technology. Air War College, Air University. USAF. November 2005
Jackson, Matthew & Morelli, Massimo. The Reasons for Wars - an Updated Survey.
Elgar Publishing. CEPR, Switzerland. December 2009.
Einstein, A. and Freud, S. Why War? Exchange of Letters between Einstein and Freud.
July 30, 1932.
Collins, Joseph J. Understanding War in Afghanistan. National Defense University
Press. June 2011
Copson, Raymond W. Iraq War: Background and Issues Overview. Report for
Congress. Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division. Order Code RL31715. April 22,
2003
Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). (2011). Montréal: International Civil Aviation
Organization. ICAO’s circular 328 AN/190. ICAO. ISBN 978-92-9231-751-5
Retrieved 3 February 2016.
Austin, Reg. Unmanned Aircraft Systems: UAVs Design, Development, and
Deployment. ISBN 978-0-470-05819-0. First Edition. John Wiley and Sons, Ltd,
Publication. 2010
Leszek Cwojdziński & Mirosław Adamski. (2014). Power units and power supply
systems in UAV, Aviation, 18:1, 1-8
Greenwald. Brave New Films (2015, April 1). Unmanned: America’s Drone Wars [Video
File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpzk7OdbjBw
Cordesman, Anthony H. The Iraq War: Strategy, tactics, and military lessons. V. 25. No.
5. Washington, DC: CSIS PRESS. ISBN 0-89206-432-3
C. D. Meyers. GI, ROBOT: THE ETHICS OF USING ROBOTS IN COMBAT. (January
2011). Vol.25. pp. 21-36. University of Illinois Press. Retrieved 10 November 2015

30
List of Definitions, Symbols and Abbreviations
U.S: United States
U.K: United Kingdom
U.N: United Nations
UAV: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
DDD: Dull, Dirty, and Dangerous
CS: Control Station
GCS: Ground Control Station
GPS: Global Positioning System
USAF: United States Air Force
NGOs: Non-Governmental Organizations
Bronze Age: The Bronze age begins around 3000 BC when civilizations first established
a far raging trade network. This network imported tin and charcoal to Cyprus, where
copper was mined and alloyed with the tin to produce bronze.
Sun Tzu: He was a Chinese, general, military strategist, and philosopher who lived in
the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China.
Bin Landen: He is Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, the founder of al-
Qaeda, the organization that claimed responsibility for the September 11 attacks on the

31
United States, along with numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and
military targets
Mullah Omar: The Afghan Mujahideen commander who founded the Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan in 1996.
Taliban: They are an Islamic fundamentalist political movement in Afghanistan currently
waging war within that country.
Qaeda: It is a militant Sunni Islamist global organization founded in 1988 by Osama bin
Laden, Abdullah Azzam, and several other Arab volunteers who fought against the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
MiG-25: Mikoyan-Gurevich is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that
was among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. It was designed by the Soviet
Union.
F/A-18: It’s called the McDonnell Douglas Hornet and it is a twin engine supersonic, all-
weather carrier-capable multirole combat jet, designed as both fighter and attack
aircraft.
C-130: It’s called the Lockheed C-130 Hercules and it’s a four-engine turboprop military
transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed.

32
CPUs: It is the central processing unit within a computer and it carries instructions and
programs by performing basic arithmetic, logical, control, and I/O operations.

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