The Air Force is using drones as terminal air controllers to fight ISIS

A senior Air Force commander revealed that airmen flying drones over ISIS-controlled areas in Syria and Iraq are directing close air support strikes supporting allied troops on the ground using unmanned aircraft.

Flying primarily out of Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, the pilots use pairs of MQ-9 Reaper drones where one designates the targets and the other drops ordnance on it, said Gen. Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, the head of Air Combat Command — a mission he calls "urban CAS."

"What we're finding is some of what we can do multi-ship with the MQ-9 is really paying dividends just because of the attributes of those airplanes with the sensor suite combined with the weapons load and the ability to buddy and do things together," Carlisle said during a Feb. 24 breakfast meeting with reporters in Washington D.C. "We're finding that as we're able to practice this more sometimes we can bring them together and pair them off."

Usually, Air Force Joint Tactical Air Controllers, Combat Controllers or Tactical Control Party airmen paint targets and walk aircraft into a strike, including Reapers. But in terror battlefields like ISIS-held Syrian cities or hotbeds in Iraq, the risk to American boots on the ground is too great to deploy terminal controllers, officials say.

Carlisle added that American unmanned planes are closely linked with ground forces fighting ISIS militants in the battle for Mosul, "doing great work with that persistent attack and reconnaissance."

"And their interaction with the land component is increasing in the Mosul fight," he added, hinting that even attack helicopters are now able to link into feeds from Reaper drones.

And there's more Carlisle wants to do with his MQ-9 fleet.

With recent bonuses of up to $175,000 paid to Air Force unmanned aerial vehicle pilots, the service now has the breathing room to do more with its Reaper fleet than just surveillance or precision strikes with one drone, Carlisle said.

"Some of that [growth] is bearing fruit in that we're getting a little bit of an opportunity to do some training and get to some other missions," Carlisle said. "So we're learning a lot about the MQ-9 and what it can do for us."