CIA veteran Charles E. Allen has predicted unmanned aerial systems will soon replace manned aircraft to carry out reconnaissance operations in an interview with Breaking Defense published Tuesday.
âI think weâll move almost solely to unmanned reconnaissance, whether itâs long range in the class of Global Hawk or whether it deals with Predator Aâs (or) Predator Bâs,â said Allen, former chairman of the National Intelligence Collection Board and former director of the National Warning Staff at CIA.
âThe way of the future is through unmanned reconnaissance… for a whole variety of tasks, using a wide range of payloads,â Allen said.
âIf you lose one, you will not have lost a pilot.â