Air Force Lt. Gen. Victor Renuart Jr. told Pentagon interviewers that both operational and strategic decision-makers now understand better the role of today’s unmanned aerial vehicles and that has led them to “collaborate much more” on using the information the UAVs provide. Renuart, who is slated to move from the Joint Staff to be military assistant to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, noted, for example, that Army and Navy special operators in Afghanistan are making use of “near-real-time or real-time information” data from Air Force Predators. “We’re dealing in tenths of seconds, as opposed to minutes, hours, or days, in some cases.” He added that UAVs “have become an accepted part of our inventory” and that “a lot of forward-thinking engineers” are looking to UAV technology to help solve the problems facing the US military over the next 15 years.
The Pentagon agency charged with building and operating U.S. spy satellites recently declassified some details about a Cold War-era surveillance program called Jumpseat—a revelation it says sheds light on the importance of satellite imaging technology and how it has advanced in the decades since.
