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American Morning
One of Keys to Success in Afghanistan to War on Terrorism is Keeping Track of Enemy
Aired November 05, 2001 - 10:25 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: As we have been reporting and talking about, one of the keys of success in Afghanistan in the war on terrorism is keeping track of the enemy. The U.S. relies on surveillance from the air to do that, but with the winter soon to be setting in, what sort of problems will that present?
Kyra Phillips now from the Big Board with more on that.
Kyra, good morning to you.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Great to see you.
U.S. forces need those eyes in the sky to keep them up to date on where Taliban troops and positions might be in Afghanistan. And just this weekend, the U.S. lost on of its unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, the Predator. We've been talking about this through the weekend. The Taliban claims to have shot it down. The U.S. says it was a weather-related crash.
Our military analyst retired Air Force Major Don Shepperd joins us live from D.C. with a little more insight on this.
Good morning. Good to see you, general.
DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.
PHILLIPS: So what do you think could weather have caused the Predator to go down, and how bad would the weather really need to be?
SHEPPERD: Absolutely, it could have caused it to do down. The Predator is basically a light airplane, in fact, a small, light airplane, and it's very susceptible to icing. Any airplane, whether it's a helicopter, whether it's a fixed-wing airplane, and especially a small airplane, like the Predator, is subject to icing. A few degrees change in temperature, and you run into heavy ice, and now you are in trouble.
PHILLIPS: All right, we have some quick facts on the predator. The predator, unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, real-time surveillance capabilities. It's operates up to 26,000 feet, 400 nautical-mile range, and can stay aloft for 24 hours. Now we have some file video of the Predator, actually in flight.
General, does the predator -- it also has missiles too, right?
SHEPPERD: There have been reports that we have armed predators in the region. It has been tested to fire the Hellfire C missile, Kyra, but the main value of predators is the sensors it has on board, a synthetic aperture radar that can see through clouds, and of course, an electrical, optical and infrared sensor, that allows it to look at targets on the ground. It's a very flexible vehicle and key to all of our military operations these days.
PHILLIPS: All right, let's talk about another surveillance aircraft that will soon be over Afghanistan, the Global Hawk. Some facts here, the Global Hawk, unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, realtime surveillance capabilities, operates between 50,000 and 60,000 feet, 1,000 nautical mile range, and can stay aloft for 24 hours. We have some video also of the Global Hawk in action.
Now, general, could weather cause any problems for the Global Hawk? Is it the same type of feel as the predator?
SHEPPERD: No, it isn't. It's much more unlikely that weather would affect this aircraft. It's a high-altitude aircraft. Generally speaking, it will operate above the weather at 65,000 feet, or in that range. You don't normally find clouds at that height.
Now, the Global Hawk, we only have four of them. It's in testing right now, in development, and this is what we do in every war. We take things that are in testing, development, we rush them to the war, we try to put them to use. It's always risky, but it's always handy to have these things. This is long endurance operating vehicle. It stays up for hours, with synthetic aperture radars and very good electro-optical cameras.
All right, from the air to the ground, let's talk about ground troops and how weather can effect the troops on the ground.
How prepared are soldiers, and how do they prepare for bad weather conditions?
SHEPPERD: Just like us, when we drive to work, weather is a pain in the neck. Anyone that tells you different is just wrong. Lots of rain and lots of snow and lots of mud make things difficult. However, you got to remember, that it makes things just as difficult for Taliban, and even more so. Our troops are trained to operate if bad weather. We do it all the time. We exercise in bad weather. Our equipment is designed for it, but icing affects the aircraft. Clouds effect our ability to do laser-guided munitions through the weather. That's why we have satellite-guided weapons. We have a full array of munitions and systems that will operate regardless of weather, but it does make it tough, and it does slow you down.
General Don Shepperd, thanks again, sir, for your insight.
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