Marine Capt. Matt Pottinger, who collaborated on "Fixing Intel," an official critique of the intelligence effort in Afghanistan issued a year ago, said he found a disconnect between the intelligence requests for aerial surveillance issued by commanders in regional headquarters and the needs of the soldiers or Marines at the platoon level.

"Often what the guys need it for is not to stare at some highway for five hours because they want to drop a bomb on some guy they see coming out to dig a hole in the ground to plant an IED," he said. "Oftentimes, the questions that the soldiers and Marines need answered are 'Where's the traffic? Where are the cars going? Are they actually using this strip of desert or completely bypassing this district?' "

Pottinger, a visiting fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said analysts in regional headquarters should meet with troops in the field to understand their needs, otherwise all the "whiz-bang" gear will never be used to its full potential.

Gorgon Stare is being tested now, and officials hope it will be fielded within two months. Each $17.5 million pod weighs 1,100 pounds and, because of its configuration, will not be mounted with weapons on Reaper aircraft, officials said. They envision it will have civilian applications, including securing borders and aiding in natural disasters. The Department of Homeland Security is exploring the technology's potential, an industry official said.

Poss said he would "never denigrate the need for good, solid human intelligence because even watching an entire city means nothing unless you can put context to it."

But, he said, "being able to watch an entire city, I'm convinced, is going to have a huge impact on operations in the war zone."

nakashimae@washpost.com whitlockc@washpost.com