The bomb-making team could be clearly seen digging a hole in the wall of a compound to plant an improvised explosive device (IED) by cameras on the Thales Hermes 450 UAV operated by 32 Regiment Royal Artillery. This was in broad daylight, and the insurgents were making no effort to hide their activities, relying on the proximity of civilians in nearby houses and compounds to protect them from NATO air attack. The challenge for the British Army UAV operators and analysts monitoring the event from Camp Bastion in central Helmand is to keep the insurgents under surveillance long enough to glean actionable intelligence.
展开▼
