U.S. aircraft operating over the Iraqi no-fly zone—such as the
F/A-18 Hornets of VFA-105 right, returning to the Arabian Gulf
from a Southern Watch patrol—are vulnerable to increasingly
sophisticated surface-to-air missile systems. The solution to
reducing the risk of shootdowns lies in unmanned technology. In
the past 30 years, U.S. forces have operated in environments
where air assets have been relatively unchallenged in their
ability to gain access to desired targets. Nations that have
challenged U.S. air power have done so mostly with surface-to-
air missiles (SAMs) and limited use of air-to-air aircraft. To
date, U.S. forces have faced only first-generation Soviet-made
surface-to-air equipment and have become quite skilled at
suppressing the SA-2, SA-3, and SA-6. However, new-generation
systems are far more capable in terms of range and lethality and
less susceptible to U.S. suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD)
techniques.