In Iraq, as in Afghanistan, where intelligence and situational awareness are vital to defeat a stealthy, mobile and hard-to-identify enemy, the revolutions in electronic and aerial technologies have proved invaluable. So much so that Lt. Col. Debra Lee, commander of the 46th Expeditionary Squadron of the U.S. Air Force, told United Press International that Predator unmanned aerial vehicles soon may be designated by the Air Force as a major weapons system.

"The demand for the Predator is so great now that pilots (who are on secondment) are already being extended beyond their three-year terms," Lee said. U.S. troops, under the Status of Forces Agreement between Washington and Baghdad (also called the Strategic Framework), are now playing supporting roles in operations in Iraq, which means their daily direct interaction with local citizens and their intelligence sources is diminishing.

By July the links will become even more tenuous. By then, American troops will have withdrawn from villages, towns and cities to more isolated bases, as stipulated by the agreement that went into effect Jan. 1.

That new isolation means Americans will need their "eyes in the sky," unmanned aerial vehicles, even more for "situational awareness."

Maj. Phillip Mann, commander of a Shadow-200 unit on Forward Operating Base War Horse, northeast of Baghdad in Diyala province, has four Shadow-200 unmanned aerial vehicles that currently fly two missions a day of six hours each. The maximum range for the aircraft is about 125 miles, but that can be extended if one of the unit's two control centers -- a container mounted on the back of a Humvee -- is moved downrange to take over control of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

With their gray paint and relatively quiet 38-hp engines, Shadow unmanned aerial vehicles are difficult to see or hear when at altitude. Mann likes to tell the story of a Shadow approaching FOB War Horse for landing while two Iraqi insurgents were firing mortars at the base. The Shadow shadowed them as they later made their way to a safe house. The men, from information gathered by the Shadow, were later arrested.

The actual flying of the Predator UAVs during their long missions is conducted by personnel at bases in the continental United States.

"Landing is the difficult bit," said Capt. Mike Grados, normally a KC-135 aerial tanker pilot who has been seconded to Predators. "As a pilot, you get to rely a lot on seat-of-the-pants feel. You don't have that when you sit in front of these screens, and you don't have any peripheral vision."

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