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,"
