A year ago, the U.S. military promised to bring a lethal network of drones and helicopters and intelligence analysts to Afghanistan, to stop the rise of improvised bombs there. That network, Task Force ODIN-Afghanistan, is now up - but only barely so. The U.S. Army unit has just two Predator-like drones flying at a time. And "so far, the unmanned assets of Task Force ODIN-Afghanistan have only brought lethal fire to bear on one target — successfully eliminating three insurgents in an engagement in August," Paul McLeary reports for Aviation Week.
From February 2007 to January 2008, the original ODIN, based in Iraq, helped take out more than 2,400 enemy bombers, the military claimed. Many credit the group with being one of the decisive forces in drastically reducing what had been a horrific roadside explosive campaign in Iraq. ODIN brought together IT gurus, image analysts, and drone pilots with attack helicopter forces charged. The networked operation was able to spot bomb planters, transmit the coordinates quickly, and strike.
So expectations were high, when ODIN-Afghanistan was announced last year. But for now, at least ODIN hasn't yet become a major push in Afghanistan - despite a huge uptick in the number of improvised bombs. Last month, the jury-rigged weapons killed 36 coalition troops.
For now, at least, ODIN-Afghanistan is a relatively modest program. Enlisted personnel operate a pair of Warrior drones. Trained pilots also fly some C-12 reconnaissance planes. They're providing valuable reconnaissance to attack helicopters and ground forces. But it's nothing on the scale of what ODIN did in Iraq.
[Photo: TFODINA.com]
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