Army, Air Force clash over control of drones

An elecontronic counter-measures UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle). Remotely piloted vehicles are used for a variety of purposes, including video reconnaisance and firing on-board missiles. The Air Force is seeking nearly $13 billion to buy 241 such craft in fiscal 2008, which starts Oct. 1.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army took aim Friday at an Air Force drive to take control of its growing fleet of drones flying 3,500 feet and higher above battlegrounds.

"Don't get into the tactical (ground) commander's fight," said Brig. Gen. Stephen Mundt, director of army aviation. "Don't get into the way we do business."

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley took the Army by surprise on March 6, when he asked the Defense Department to tap the Air Force as its "executive agent" for medium- and high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs...

Mundt, briefing reporters, dismissed the Air Force initiative as "ludicrous," saying it would force army commanders to surrender capabilities and then "compete to get that same capability back."

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