On Wednesday 23 February 2005, Wing Commander Andrew Brookes (IISS Aerospace Analyst) addressed Members of the Institute on “Manned and Unmanned Military Aircraft Prospects for the early 21st Century”. Organised by IISS-Asia, the event took place at Prestige Room, 9 Raffles Place, Level 57 Republic Plaza.
Synopsis:
The seminar commenced by covering some of the main lessons learnt from recent operational experiences, followed by some of the Wing Commander’s thoughts on modern threats. He then suggested which capabilities might best be provided by unmanned air vehicles and which should be left to manned craft. Lastly, he pulled these threads together in terms of network-enabled capability, command and control, and military organisation.
Wing Commander Brookes, a former RAF reconnaissance and bomber pilot, was a NATO Nuclear Release Officer and the last operational RAF Commander at the Greenham Common cruise missile base. After three years as a Group Director at the RAF Advanced Staff College, he became the Co-ordinator of Air Power Studies at the newly formed Joint Services Command and Staff College. He has written twelve books on military aviation and flight safety. Andrew Brookes specialises in all aspects of aerospace and air power, with particular reference to ballistic missile defence, nuclear issues, unmanned aerial vehicles, national air forces and the air dimension of conflicts around the world.
