Myriad ways that drones, satellites, and common controls reshape ISR

Green Berets assigned to 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) set up a communication platform for drone operations at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, Aug. 11, 2026. 1st SFG(A) conducted a drone operation training focuses on using drones as an Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform. 1st SFG(A) maintains highly lethal, rapidly deployable forces to execute the full spectrum of special operations alongside allies, partners, and the joint force as the preferred partner and premier special operations entity in the U.S. Pacific Command area of responsibility. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. John Bae) This photo was altered for security purposes in accordance with USSOCOM Manual 360-1.

Airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) is a foundational element of establishing information superiority on the battlefield. But as threats evolve and the battlespace expanded to all domains, accurate information gathering and sharing is ever more critical.

ISR platforms must be flexible and adaptable to meet these challenges. Airborne ISR is a must, but expanding ISR capabilities to space and being prepared for attempts to interfere with satellite intelligence are also part of successfully establishing information dominance.

Building the necessary capabilities requires understanding how ISR platforms can work together to paint a clear picture of the battlefield and how threats are evolving.

Drones and ISR infrastructure

Air dominance is a cornerstone of US military doctrine, and maintaining it enables ISR assets to operate without threat of attack. The rise of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) offers new ISR capabilities, but also creates new threats that must be accounted for to maintain control of the skies.

The rapid advancement of drone technology is shaping how US forces are building their future fleets of aircraft. The Air Force had previously announced its plans to accelerate its Massed Modular Aircraft (MMA) unmanned platform, and in his keynote at the 2026 AFA Air, Space, Cyber Conference, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said that the service is looking to fielding 100 of the new drones by 2029 and 500 by 2032, up from the original goal of having 20 drones in service by fiscal 2031.

Lt. Gen. Christopher Niemi, the Air Force’s chief modernization officer, said standardization of control interfaces will be a key consideration for the force’s drone efforts.

“What I would like to have is multiple aircraft designs that go into production that can be operated with a common interface that’s more like mouse clicks and keyboard as opposed to stick and throttle, and I can have, whatever an MMA operator ends up looking like, fly all of them. That’s where I would like to go,” Niemi said.

The US Marine Corps is also focused on drones for ISRas part of its ISR efforts, including developing its own fleet instead of relying on contractors. At the 2026 Modern Day Marine Conference, Marine Corps Maj. Michael Zbonack said that the force wants to implement its own ISR capabilities by working with industry to develop a common controller software solution, allowing troops to hand off control of drones as needed.

The next frontier of ISR

Whether it’s collected by drones, military aircraft or modified civilian aircraft, ISR is necessary to give commanders and troops in the field a clear picture of the battlefield and what is happening at any given time. With the rise of space as a warfighting domain, satellite-based ISR and counter-satellite strategies are becoming more important to ensure information advantagel.

United States Space Force Delta 7 is responsible for space-based ISR, with several squadrons around the country focused on providing intelligence for monitoring adversarial activities, threat analysis, support for integrated fires and combat operations.

Space Force is also tracking how adversaries such as Russia and China are implementing ISR and other capabilities in space, and released a fact sheet in July detailing several known capabilities. Among them are more than 500 Chinese satellites with optical, multispectral, radar, and radio frequency sensors, while Russia has tested anti-satellite missiles and ground-based lasers to blind intelligence satellites to potential missile launches. Russia and China are both also suspected of launching space-based weapons systems in addition to reconnaissance capabilities.

In his AFA keynote, Meink revealed that the US has weapons in orbit to defend forces against potential threats from adversaries.

“Today, we continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenges of evolving threats wherever they exist,” Meink said. “This is why the United States now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action.”

2026年8月11日，隶属于美国陆军第1特种部队群（空降）的绿色贝雷帽特种部队在华盛顿州刘易斯-麦科德联合基地搭建了一个无人机作战通信平台。第1特种部队群（空降）开展了一次无人机作战训练，重点是将无人机用作情报、监视和侦察（ISR）平台。第1特种部队群（空降）拥有一支高杀伤力、可快速部署的部队，作为美国太平洋司令部责任区内首选的合作伙伴和首屈一指的特种作战单位，能够与盟友、伙伴和联合部队并肩执行全方位的特种作战任务。（美国陆军照片，由参谋军士约翰·贝拍摄）根据美国特种作战司令部手册360-1，出于安全考虑，此照片已进行修改。

空中情报、监视和侦察（ISR）是建立战场信息优势的基础要素。但随着威胁的演变和战场向所有领域扩展，准确的信息收集和共享变得愈发重要。

为了应对这些挑战，情报、监视与侦察（ISR）平台必须具备灵活性和适应性。机载ISR必不可少，但将ISR能力扩展到太空并做好应对干扰卫星情报的准备，也是成功建立信息优势的重要组成部分。

要构建必要的能力，就需要了解 ISR 平台如何协同工作，从而清晰地描绘出战场状况以及威胁的演变过程。

无人机和情报、监视与侦察基础设施

空中优势是美国军事理论的基石，保持空中优势能够确保情报、监视和侦察（ISR）资产在免受攻击威胁的情况下开展行动。无人机系统（UAS）的兴起带来了新的ISR能力，但也带来了新的威胁，必须加以应对才能维护制空权。

无人机技术的飞速发展正在重塑美军未来机队的建设方式。空军此前已宣布计划加速推进其大规模模块化飞机（MMA）无人平台项目。在2026年美国空军协会（AFA）航空航天网络会议上，空军部长特洛伊·梅因克在主题演讲中表示，空军计划到2029年部署100架新型无人机，到2032年部署500架，高于最初设定的到2031财年部署20架无人机的目标。

空军首席现代化官克里斯托弗·尼米中将表示，控制界面的标准化将是空军无人机发展工作的一个关键考虑因素。

“我希望看到的是多种飞机设计投入生产，这些飞机可以使用类似鼠标和键盘的通用界面进行操作，而不是操纵杆和油门。这样，无论MMA操作员最终是什么样子，他们都能驾驶所有这些飞机。这就是我想要达到的目标，”尼米说道。

美国海军陆战队也十分重视无人机在情报、监视与侦察（ISR）领域的应用，并将其作为ISR工作的一部分，包括组建自己的无人机队，而不是依赖承包商。在2026年现代海军陆战队大会上，海军陆战队少校迈克尔·兹博纳克表示，海军陆战队希望通过与业界合作开发通用控制软件解决方案，实现自主的ISR能力，从而使部队能够根据需要移交无人机的控制权。

情报、监视与侦察的下一个前沿领域

无论是通过无人机、军用飞机还是改装的民用飞机收集信息，情报、监视与侦察（ISR）对于让前线指挥官和部队清晰了解战场态势和实时动态都至关重要。随着太空作为作战领域的崛起，基于卫星的ISR和反卫星战略对于确保信息优势变得愈发重要。

美国太空部队 Delta 7 负责天基情报、监视和侦察 (ISR)，其在全国各地设有多个中队，专注于提供情报以监控敌方活动、威胁分析、支持综合火力作战和作战行动。

美国太空部队也在密切关注俄罗斯和中国等对手如何在太空部署情报、监视与侦察（ISR）及其他能力，并于7月发布了一份情况说明书，详细介绍了已知的几项能力。其中包括中国500多颗搭载光学、多光谱、雷达和射频传感器的卫星，而俄罗斯则测试了反卫星导弹和地面激光器，以干扰情报卫星，使其无法探测潜在的导弹发射。俄罗斯和中国都被怀疑除了侦察能力外，还在发射天基武器系统。

在 AFA 的主题演讲中，梅因克透露，美国在轨道上部署了武器，以防御敌方可能构成的威胁。

“今天，我们将继续确保随时准备应对不断演变的威胁，无论这些威胁出现在哪里，”梅因克说。“正因如此，美国现在拥有在轨空间控制武器，能够保护联合部队免受敌对势力的攻击。”