This archive report was first published on 17 July 2020.
Published on July 17, 2020, a U.S. report highlighted the challenges faced by the Afghan drone program, which has received $174 million in funding.
The ScanEagle, a small drone with a 10-foot wingspan, has been used by the American military in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Launched by a catapult, it lands by flying into a net and sounds like a lawn mower, as seen in a (https://youtu.be/U6OloUUhMeg?t=50).
Initially, the program aimed to train 12 to 20 Afghan students in 11 weeks on how to operate the ScanEagle. However, this was later changed to training about 28 students in roughly a year, which included a six-month English-language course and basic computer skills. In 2018, the attrition rate for the program was 31 percent.
Concerns were raised about the program's effectiveness, as the Afghan military was unable to account for 27 of the 87 soldiers certified to operate the ScanEagle drones. Moreover, an average of 17 soldiers assigned to operate the ScanEagles at sites around the country were absent due to sickness, annual leave, or unknown reasons.
Issues with ScanEagle equipment have also arisen, with American officials in Afghanistan expressing concerns that the Afghan National Army does not know where the equipment it owns is or whether it is being used appropriately. Additionally, Afghan law enforcement agencies seized a stolen ScanEagle vehicle that a criminal intended to sell to a suspected terrorist organization for $400,000.
U.S. officials have also expressed concerns that the ScanEagle could be weaponized, a common tactic for insurgent groups that outfit small, unarmed drones with homemade devices to drop grenades or other munitions.
The report comes as the Pentagon has reduced its forces in Afghanistan to roughly 8,600 troops and transferred five bases to Afghan forces as part of the peace agreement with the Taliban.
Jonathan Hoffman, the top Pentagon spokesman, stated, “The United States honors its obligations. All sides should reduce violence and embark on intra-Afghan negotiations capable of achieving a negotiated and lasting peace for Afghanistan.”
