![]() The operational crew controls the aircraft, its sensors and weapons system via an advanced, secure satellite communication system, providing over-the-horizon data link capability from bases in the UK and US. An in-theatre launch and recovery team is responsible for its ground operations. CAPABILITYĪ crew comprising a pilot, sensor operator and mission intelligence co-ordinator flies Reaper from a remote ground control station (GCS). The aircraft’s persistence and array of surveillance sensors are an essential complement to the RAF’s crewed platforms. Now that we know a little about the lineage of the Reaper, we'll learn more about what it's capable of next.The MQ-9 Reaper (Reaper MQ-9A) is a remotely piloted medium-altitude, long endurance (MALE) aircraft designed for Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR), and attack missions. It proved its muscle when it began flying missions in October 2007. The Reaper can fly about nine times farther and twice as high as the Predator, and it doesn't require any fighter jets for backup. The 300 mph (482 k) top speed of a Reaper, on the other hand, is better suited for quickly targeting and destroying enemy personnel and vehicles that are on the move. The 140 mph (225 km/h) speed of a Predator is suitable for hovering back and forth in the skies in search of troop movements, the coordinates of which can be called in to a nearby fighter jet. While the Predator is a surveillance platform with weapons capabilities, the Reaper is a hunter/killer with surveillance capabilities. Enter the MQ-9 Reaper, which was designed to address this issue. Though they're armed relatively lightly with only two Hellfire missiles, Predators are lethal and have been responsible for killing both high-level targets in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as possible targets, such as insurgents spotted planting roadside bombs.Īside from a quick ambush of an unsuspecting target, Predators don't pack much of a punch. Armed Predators are officially designated MQ-1Bs. Though it was designed to be an eye in the sky, military planners have retrofitted the Predator with a little muscle as well. If you're interested in learning more in-depth information about the Predator drone, read How the Predator UAV Works.Īs the military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan and the hunt for al-Qaida members continued, the United States found more use for the offensive strike capabilities the Predator offered. ![]() pilot operating the Predator was stationed in Djibouti, while the commander overseeing the operation was in Saudi Arabia. It was a display not only of the Predator's power but also its wide-ranging command-and-control configurations: The U.S. Five other suspected al-Qaida members also died in the attack. One year later, a missile fired from a Predator killed an alleged planner of the 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen. It destroyed an unoccupied target tank in the process. In February 2001, the Predator served its first offensive purpose, successfully firing an armed Hellfire missile in a test trial. ![]() About two dozen UAVs (Predators as well as other models) were used for surveillance purposes during NATO air operations over Kosovo, and nine of them were shot down. The MQ-1 Predator unmanned drone was introduced in 1996 and was first used in a war zone during the 78 days of the 1999 Kosovo conflict. The Air Force intends to double its use of the Predator by 2010 and will quadruple the number of UAV air crews it trains each year. The use of UAVs like the Predator and the Reaper is growing rapidly within the Air Force, and other branches of the military are showing interest in them as well. There are somewhere between 320 and 400 individual Predator drones in use today. The Predator has a 49-foot (14 m) wingspan and can climb to about 25,000 feet (7.6 kilometers). The MQ-1B Predator, an unmanned, lightly armed surveillance aircraft, is the direct predecessor of the MQ-9 Reaper. Considering that a B-2 bomber alone costs around $1.5 billion, it wasn't a bad investment: Today, UAVs play a very important role in military engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as surveillance missions across the globe. Department of Defense (DOD) spent more than $3 billion in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) research and operations in the 1990s.
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