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.
Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, nominee to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Defense Department needs to upgrade its electronic warfare capability and its EW training ranges; just as his predecessor said at his own confirmation hearing.