September 1st came and went quietly without any public discourse on what might be a very signficant event in military aviation.  An unmanned aerial vehicle scored a kill of two IED emplacers.

The US army has hailed the killing of two suspected insurgents in northern Iraq by a drone as a landmark in combat aviation history.

A statement said that a Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) successfully killed two “unknown enemies” in Nineveh province after ground troops requested backup.

According to the Pentagon, this represented the first time a fully-armed UAV had been launched.

The military claims that soldiers identified two potential bombers at a “major thoroughfare” used by coalition troops.

Before they could deploy roadside bombs – or improvised explosive devices – as suspected, the Hunter was guided in by pilots and its “precise munition” released; killing both men.

But what about those UAVs that loiter and lumber over the battle space searching for Taliban, al Qaeda and other rogue elements to kill?  Most of these are CIA or Air Force.  The Multinational Force press release states in clearer terms what this day means to aviation history.

A Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle engaged and killed two suspected improvised explosive device emplacers overwatching a major thoroughfare for Coalition Forces during a historic flight near Qayyarah, Iraq, in Nineveh province Sept. 1.

A scout weapons team from 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, observed the two unknown enemy fighters in a tactical overwatch near the roadside. The SWT requested support from the Hunter UAV.

The pilots guided the Hunter operator to the scene where it set up for a strike mission and dropped its precision munition, killing both unknown enemies and marking a first in Army Aviation history.

“It’s very humbling to know that we have set an Army historical mark in having the first successful launch in combat from an Army weaponized UAV,� said Capt. Raymond Fields, commander, Unmanned Aerial Surveillance Company. “This would not be possible without my Soldiers and civilians working hard day in and day out in Iraq to accomplish this feat.�

Fields continued, “I think that this success will set the tone for Army Aviation in years to come. We will see more weaponized Army unmanned vehicles being used instead of manned platforms to save not only our aviator brethren but our Army ground brethren from enemy contact.�

“This accomplishment adds a precise and discriminate means for our Army to successfully engage the enemy in counterinsurgency warfare,� said Col. A.T. Ball, commander, 25th CAB.

September 1 marks the first time the Army observed the enemy, and launched Army UAVs to score a kill, operated and controlled by Army personnel.  There are other very unique aircraft that are associated with branches of the military.  The problem-plagued V-22 Osprey is supposed to be deployed to Marines in September of 2007.  It has been costly (in terms of human lives and work hours to qualify), but if successful, this tilt rotor aircraft will fly faster and higher than any helicopter and carry more troops while having a greater range.

I have covered Air Force support for counterinsurgency by use of the A-10 in A-10s Aid in Counterinsurgency, Faster Kill Chain and A-10 Update and Pictures.  In this case, the Air Force is supporting the Marines (and in the future, the Army) in counterinsurgency.  There is cooperation between branches of the military.

In the end, while we have no specific emotional commitment to whether air power comes from any specific branch – whether helicopter, A-10, VTOL Harrier, UAV, Air Force fighers – the true test will be whether the support can be provided efficiently and at the lowest cost.  While the Army foray into nuclear reactors was a bust, this appears to be a successful example of instantaneous support to field operations by Army aviators using a UAV, resulting in two successful kills.

Nonetheless, we have our doubts that Air Force pilots will become a thing of the past.