{
  "id": "RL31872",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL31872",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
  "versions": [
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      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 310195,
      "date": "2005-11-21",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T19:26:56.178029",
      "title": "Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Background and Issues for Congress",
      "summary": "The war on terrorism has put a high premium on a primary mission of UAVs, intelligence\ngathering. \nFurthermore, the military effectiveness of UAVs in recent conflicts such as Iraq (1990) and Kosovo\n(1999) opened the eyes of many to both the advantages and disadvantages provided by unmanned\naircraft. Long relegated to the sidelines in military operations, UAVs are now making national\nheadlines as they are used in ways normally reserved for manned aircraft. Conventional wisdom\nstates that UAVs offer two main advantages over manned aircraft: they are considered more\ncost-effective, and they minimize the risk to a pilot's life. However, the current UAV accident rate\n(the rate at which the aircraft are lost or damaged) is 100 times that of manned aircraft. \n UAVs range from the size of an insect to that of a commercial airliner. DOD currently\npossesses five major UAVs: the Air Force's Predator and Global Hawk, the Navy and Marine\nCorps's Pioneer, and the Army's Hunter and Shadow. Other key UAV developmental efforts include\nthe Air Force and Navy's unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV), Navy's vertical takeoff and landing\nUAV (VTUAV), and the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance UAV(BAMS), and the Marine Corps's\nDragon Eye and Dragon Warrior. The services continue to be innovative in their use of UAVs. \nRecent examples include arming UAVs (Predator, Hunter), using UAVs to extend the eyes of\nsubmarines, and teaming UAVs with strike aircraft and armed helicopters to improve targeting.\n In the past, tension has existed between the services' efforts to acquire UAVs and congressional\ninitiatives to encourage a consolidated DOD approach. Some observers argue that the result has\nbeen a less than stellar track record for the UAV. However, reflecting the growing awareness and\nsupport in Congress and the Department of Defense for UAVs, investments in unmanned aerial\nvehicles have been increasing every year. DoD spending on UAVs has increased from $284 million\nin Fiscal Year 2000 to $2.1 billion in FY2005. \n Congressional considerations include the proper pace, scope, and management of DoD UAV\nprocurement; appropriate investment priorities for UAVs versus manned aircraft; UAV future roles\nand applications; personnel issues; industrial base issues; and technology proliferation. This report\nwill be updated as necessary.",
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    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs5693/",
      "id": "RL31872 2003-04-25",
      "date": "2003-04-25",
      "retrieved": "2005-06-12T17:52:37",
      "title": "Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Background and Issues for Congress",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
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      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Weapons systems",
          "name": "Weapons systems"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Drone aircraft",
          "name": "Drone aircraft"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Intelligence and National Security",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}