Air National Guard Remotely Piloted Aircraft and Domestic Missions

"With the nation facing a variety of domestic threats and potential emergencies, policymakers are looking for ways to respond, especially as budgets decline. They need to exploit new capabilities and optimize those that already exist. Air National Guard (ANG) remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs) may offer such an opportunity. However, significant sensitivities may arise in the use of military RPAs for domestic missions. There are also constraints at both the operational and policy levels. This report analyzes which domestic RPA missions are best suited to the ANG's current and planned capabilities and explores the policy and operational constraints that ANG RPAs face in conducting such missions. The authors gathered and analyzed data on the kinds of missions that RPAs conduct domestically, the current and future capabilities of the ANG's RPA force (such as sensors), and the policy and operational constraints the ANG faces in using its RPAs to fly domestic missions"--Back cover.