Using drones for surveillance, border control and humanitarian operations could provide the Armed Forces of Malta with solutions which would not be possible using only manned vehicles, proposals in a drone strategy paper suggest.
Author Stefano Basilico, a Newcastle University graduate who has researched the use of drones for border control, said that by implementing a drone strategy, the AFM would benefit from facilitated operations and be in a position to improve existing efforts.
“A General Atomic MQ-1B Predator, one of the most-used drones by the United States Air Force, could stay airborne up to 24 hours, flying at a maximum ceiling of 25,000 feet, with a cruise speed of 70 knots.”
While the majority of vehicles deployed by the AFM are faster than the Predator, Mr Basilico noted, their endurance is 84 per cent lower than that of the drones – also referred to as unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs.
“Most military UAVs can fly for almost 24 hours, with the chance to shift the aircrew – which guarantees more concentration,” Mr Basilico pointed out.
Such unmanned vehicles, able to fly for almost 24 hours, would have more chance of detecting vessels and people smugglers
In April last year, a US Navy drone became the first unmanned aircraft to successfully refuel mid-air. This manoeuvre makes it possible for the drones to stay airborne for even longer stretches of time without having to be brought back to the base for fuelling.
Mr Basilico said this made it easier for countries like Malta, whose military capabilities were limited compared to those of other European countries, to be able to execute large-scale operations.
Mr Basilico referred to Malta’s recent military history and its involvement in humanitarian operations as a result of the instability in North Africa. This, he claimed, could all be improved through the use of drones.
“Such high-technology, un-manned vehicles, able to fly for almost 24 hours, would have more chance of detecting vessels and people smugglers, and to call for help in case of shipwreck,” he said.
A similar technique was used by the Malta-based migrant rescue vehicle, the Migrant Offshore Aid Station, or MOAS, which operates military-grade drones to monitor the seas for migrants in distress.
The deployment of the un-manned aerial vehicles would best be handled by the AFM’s Air Wing and Maritime Squadrons, Mr Basilico added.
“These have pilots with the technical and operational knowledge to fly the unmanned vehicles, and it would be possible for the AFM to maintain a very similar hierarchical framework in this context.”
Mr Basilico said the government should consider drafting a strategic and economic feasibility study on UAV use by the armed forces, given that the costs for drones varied and the purchasing of a drone system involved a lengthy process.