Manned-unmanned teaming: expanding the envelope of UAS operational employment

The employment of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) has become ubiquitous, not only within modern multinational militaries, but also among the civilian and commercial aviation communities. Although the concept of UAS application dates much farther back than most realize (unmanned balloons were used during the American Civil War for ordnance delivery with limited success, for example), most trace the origins of contemporary apposite UAS application to the Israelis and Americans in the 1970s and 1980s (11). Over the past few decades, there has been rapid expansion of UAS technology, capability, and employment strategies on many fronts.