Drone ISR Nov 21-23 NC Recommended reading Part 2

In Part 1, we discussed a very brief history of Manned and Unmanned ISR assets as it applies to aerial vehicles. Here in Part 2, we’ll discuss in a bit more detail, ISR and begin to dive into what ‘Intelligence’ means in this space as well as the important role ISR plays in 21st century warfare.

ISR is absolutely the most critical enhancement to a fighting force in the 21^st century. Surely, if any army of wars gone-by had an aerial reconnaissance device or vehicle, it would be an undefeated force. There seems to be trend of warfare technology being scaled to the squad level. Even the armies as a whole seem to be downsizing and replacing troops with new technology to make 1 man, fight like 10, antidotally. Large Unit movements are still used, but much of the technology has been tailored for the 5–10-man element. ISR, moving from large UAV’s that require a runway and an annoying number more troops to operate, maintain, and launch, to a small quadcopter that can fit into a ruck sack being the most renowned thus far.

Drones give the squad a huge advantage when maneuvering in any fashion. Imagine having a live aerial view of the road you are about to turn onto, or a trench you are about to storm (after you dive bomb the enemy machine gun nest with your flying IED). This has certainly created both advantages and disadvantages for infantry tactics. Since drones are so cheap and easy to use, both friend and foe utilize the technology. In the case of the current Slav War, this makes defending and taking new trench lines a nightmare scenario with a seemingly high casualty rate for both sides, though the true numbers are nearly impossible to verify.

ISR, is a very simple concept. Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance. Intelligence is information collected from a source (a camera in this instance) that is analyzed and turned into an actionable package. Meaning, the drone catches men with rifles crossing a road, it’s assumed that since no friendly forces are near that area, it’s enemy movement. The information is the men crossing the road. The intelligence is the follow up and context of that information.

Surveillance, in this case shows that they are moving in a file formation, due East and making about 50 meters per minute through the wooded area (more intelligence). The Reconnaissance would be to see what’s ahead in the direction of travel to maybe determine a motive or obvious destination, prior to their arrival. Though Surveillance and Reconnaissance can almost be interchangeable terms depending on the situation and context…no need to argue semantics. A fat general likely coined the term ISR and got a new star.

Intelligence is known as the driver of operations. Without intelligence, a fighting element is quite literally blind. Attacking an unknown enemy has been the ruin of soldiers, armies, and nations since the dawn of time. Defending against an unknown enemy has also been the ruin of many as well. Without proper intel gathering and most importantly, dissemination (telling someone), the fighting element is about as useful as a gun with no firing mechanism. Sure, you can beat someone over the head with it…if you can close the gap fast enough, but it’s far more effective and economical to know what traps lie ahead than to haphazardly bumble through a battle.

The dissemination of Intelligence is critical. This too, has been the downfall of armies long since defeated. Tell no one? Dead. Tell the wrong one? Dead from behind. This is the main reason behind the US’ current classification guidelines. The subtle art of shutting your mouth is key to success. Intel gathering in itself is an artform of sort, at least the analytics required to make it useful (actionable). If it’s determined that the men crossing the road had some livestock with them, and 2 of the 4 had rifles, the decision to continue following them would likely be different than if the message was simply ‘4 men with rifles, crossing the road, headed east’. A beautiful painting is in the details and the big picture, not either or.

Author’s Note: After a long hiatus, I’m back. I hope you all are enjoying the recommended reading. It will help if you are new to the tactical training world and American Partisan/Brushbeater or even long time Brushbeaters. I look forward to seeing you all soon, still more to come…

– Madman_Actual