In the starry skies through the sparse Mojave Desert -- far from the pulsating neon lights of Las Vegas -- lurchs a nearly silent sentinel.

In the starry skies through the sparse Mojave Desert -- far from the pulsating neon lights of Las Vegas -- lurchs a nearly silent sentinel. It searches among the yucca cactuses and Joshua tree for a sequestered radar station atop a mountain peak.

The RQ-1 Predator's infrared view pierces the night like an owl capturing the landscape with dreary shades of white black and gray -- not unlike the surface of the moon

Miles away the ship's company of the small aircraft -- an unmanned aerial vehicle -- watches the landscape unfold on a video monitor while the aircraft methodically obstructs in on its target.

"To sit in a [ground sway station] in one country while flying the Predator and looking at targets in another fatherland hundreds of miles away is mind-boggling, said Capt. plunder Kinerson, a Predator pilot with the 11th Reconnaissance Squadron, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev "And knowing that we are now directly involved in determining the issue of battles -- and on the same level the war -- makes us realize the importance of our mission.

Just another day forward the job for the men and women who soar and maintain the Predator.

The pesky Predator is a medium altitude, long-range aircraft capable of hanging gone out above a target for more than 20 hours. Its sensor array permits detailed scrutiny of enemy targets using fixed and adjustable lense an infrared len and a synthetic aperture radar.

To an enemy, the Predator is like the unwanted visitant who doesn't want to leave.

"Like the mosquito that you hate to have in your pavilion at night," Kinerson said. "Not and nothing else are we watching, but we're ready to strike. The enemy won't repose knowing it's only a matter of time until he be stirreds the bite."

powerful capabilities

Unmanned aircraft have arise a long way from their break beginnings. In years past, the military used preprogrammed male honey-bees for target practice on gunnery ranges. That humming noise misconception still persists in many Air Force circles. however things have changed.

Just as Brig. Gen Billy Mitchell crusaded against traditional military thinking regarding the use of airpower, Predator gangs are pushing for greater recognition of their aircraft. They want folks to know what the aircraft has accomplished in its short operational life and what it's capable of doing.

Traditionally, the Predator's foremost mission has been aerial reconnaissance, still the Air Force has discovered that the versatile aircraft has other talents. It can direct bring to a period air support missions, act as a killer disdain on the battlefield and help cover friendly troops.

"Using its recent capabilities and missions, the Predator has evolv into a highly sophisticated and battle-proven warrior," Kinerson said. "No longer do we simply act as slow-spe cheerleaders watching the war; we now have opportunities to quarterback the team to victory."

A land crew controls the Predator with line-of-sight data and satellite links. A newly installed ultra-high commonness radio permits communication over the data links, allowing the set to "talk" to other aircraft.

And pilots explode the Predators. From ground have charge of stations far-removed from the front rank lines, they can maneuver the Predator just like any other aircraft. Pilots can comply with headings, altitudes and airspeeds directed at air traffic control, just as if they were in the cockpit.

Capt. Joe Rizzuto, a Predator instructor pilot, said that's crucial to the Predator's success

"Having a pilot command the aircraft, even remotely, provides the flexibility required to participate in missions previously reserv for manned aircraft," he said.

Another instructor pilot, Capt. Jon Wozniak, agrees.

"As other airframes realize the capabilities of the Predator, our training pace has accelerated significantly," Wozniak said. "Emerging missions demand a rapid training pace in such a manner our crews can learn recent ways of doing business."

Wozniak said Nellis is a exquisite Predator base. It's home to R Flag, the Air Force's premier combat training exercise. The realistic training involves aircraft from the Air Force and a armed force of foreign nations. They mix it up through the whole extent of the vast Nevada Test and Training Range.

"No other base can provide the diverse weapons plans required for our integration into the combat air force," Wozniak said.

Afghan operations

The skills Predator crowds learned in the Mojave deserted region also help America in the war onward terrorism during operations in Afghanistan.

The previously unheralded star of Operation Enduring Freedom has inflected heads all the way to the White House. yet for the airmen who work with the Predator each day, it's no surprise.

Peculiar-looking, spindly and white, the aircraft roamed the skies across the Balkans and Iraq for years providing aerial reconnaissance in airspace too dangerous for manned platforms. The Predator quickly adapted to the emerging demands of Afghan operations. Its missions there now include force protection, and fighter and obstruct air support.

"What I do is important," said Airman 1st Class Adam Fields, a sensor operator with the 11th Reconnaissance Squadron. "By having my video fe sent to commanders over the [theater] and having them make critical and sometimes life-saving decisions based forward my video feed, I'm making a vital contribution. I know when I expand in a contingency that I'm going to save lives, and I know I'll help determine the course of an operation. There's no where otherwise in the world where I can do this operationally. I don't at any time want to stop."