Having better intelligence than your enemy is vital to the
success of a military operation, and the current situation in Iraq
is no exception. Every day, terrorists, insurgents, and members of
the ousted Baath Party attempt ambushes and place improvised
explosive devices intended to kill innocent civilians and coalition
soldiers.
To combat this, the Army has recently developed and deployed a new
information gatherer – the Shadow, a tactical unmanned aerial
vehicle.
Soldiers from the 312th and 313th Military Intelligence Battalions
operate and maintain the Shadow TUAV for the 82nd Airborne
Division, which is calling the Anbar province home these days. The
vehicle's mission is to gather intelligence from high altitudes,
which allows it to remain mostly imperceptible to e