Grafenwöhr may get UAV facility

[unhappycamper]

Grafenwöhr may get UAV facility
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Monday, December 15, 2008

GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — The Army may build an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle facility, complete with its own 1,000-foot runway and hangars, in the middle of Grafenwöhr Training Area.

Col. Tim Touzinsky, the Joint Multinational Training Command chief of staff, said Friday that a feasibility study is under way to site the facility, for up to three UAV platoons, at Grafenwöhr.

"We have this new weapons system. We want to have hangers, a maintenance facility and a place where they can run the platoons — not just somewhere to fly out of," he said.

UAVs are remote-controlled aircraft equipped with cameras and sensors. They are used extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan to provide commanders with up-to-the-minute aerial images of the battlefield.

Shadow UAVs are assigned to the Grafenwöhr-based 172nd Infantry Brigade, which deployed to Iraq this month. UAV platoons are also part of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment at nearby Vilseck and the Vicenza, Italy/Bamberg, Germany-based 173rd Airborne Brigade, he said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59417