AVweb
Some military brass say that unmanned aircraft need too many people to keep them flying. The issue came up with a proposed program called Operation Overwatch to supply armed airborne support for special operations personnel in isolated places. Those forces currently rely on the U-28A Draco, a militarized Pilatus PC-12 that bristles with sensors and antennas and gets in and out of austere airfields with relative ease. Special ops has been looking for a new armed platform. Among the contenders are such familiar players as the Textron AT-6 Wolverine and two versions of the Embraer Tucano. Now the MQ-9 Reaper drone has been thrown into the mix but at least one special ops leader thinks it’s a long shot.