Weapon of choice against al Qaeda, drones marginal in Syria

Prowling the skies of Pakistan and Yemen, armed drones are America's weapon of choice in its war against al Qaeda, drones do not have the capability for air-to-air combat and would be vulnerable to Syria's defense system of surface-to-air missiles and radar which can track and shoot down warplanes, never mind slower-moving drones.

The Hellfire missiles generally carried by drones also lack the firepower of a cruise missile, which is considered the likely weapon for any limited U.S. strike against President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Washington blames Assad's government for a chemical weapons attack near Damascus last month.

"It's well-known that the Syrian air defense system is robust," a U.S. defense official said. "Drones, like any other (aerial) platform, are vulnerable to integrated air defenses."

Used for protecting American troops in largely uncontested air space in Iraq and Afghanistan, and killing terrorism suspects in Pakistan and Yemen, drones can be remotely piloted from bases in the United States, avoiding risk to the lives of U.S. military personnel operating them.

U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen increased dramatically under President Barack Obama and the pilotless aerial vehicles have become a key part of the fight against al Qaeda. The United States has also used them over Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya and Iraq, and this year received approval to base drones in Niger.

However, the situation in Syria is not suited to the use of armed drones - not at least for the moment.

"If we don't control the air space then they (armed drones)are slow, they are noisy, they are very easy to shoot right out of the sky. They are really not all that useful when it comes to states like Syria,"

source reuters.com