Unmanned Aerial Vehicles by Country, Part 2 Codexery

General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper

First hunter-killer UAV designed for long-endurance surveillance and strike.

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General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper

United States Air Force · Public domain

The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems primarily for the United States Air Force.[1] The Reaper's 950-shaft-horsepower turboprop engine enables it to carry 15 times more ordnance and cruise at roughly three times the MQ-1's speed.[2]

How it changed

The USAF aimed for the Predator B to provide improved "deadly persistence" capability, complementing piloted attack aircraft.[3] Designed for long-endurance surveillance, the MQ-9 became the first hunter-killer UAV, shifting from primarily intelligence roles to a true hunter-killer function.[4] The proof-of-concept aircraft, designated Predator B-001, conducted its maiden flight on 2 February 2001.[5] The USAF possessed nine Reapers by October 2007; by December 2010, that number had grown to 57, with plans to acquire an additional 272.[6]

The USAF operated more than 300 MQ-9 Reapers, and the MQ-9 fleet's projected service life ends in 2035.[7][8] In 2013, AFSOC aimed to be able to disassemble an MQ-9 in under eight hours, transport it globally on a C-17 Globemaster III, and reassemble it for flight within another eight hours.[9]

What the maker and period sources say

The US Air Force released video of two Russian Su-27 aircraft dumping fuel and colliding with a US MQ-9 drone over the Black Sea on March 14, 2023.[10] The commander of US Air Forces Europe, James B. Hecker, stated that the Russian Su-27 struck the MQ-9's propeller, forcing US forces to bring it down in international waters.[11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Escutia, "4 remotely piloted vehicle squadrons stand up at Holloman", US Air Force, 29 October 2009; Peterson, "You say "drone," I say "remotely piloted"", Reuters, 16 December 2009 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "'Reaper' moniker given to MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle", US Air Force, 14 September 2006 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Greg Goebel, "Unmanned Aerial Vehicles", 1 March 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "MQ-9 REAPER fact sheet", US Air Force, 18 August 2010; "'Reaper' moniker given to MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle", US Air Force, 14 September 2006; "'Reaper' moniker given to MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle", US Air Force, 14 September 2006 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Whittle, "The Man Who Invented the Predator", Air & Space Magazine (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Air Force's hunter-killer UAV now flying in Afghanistan", US Air Force, 10 November 2007; Spencer Ackerman, "Air Force Is Through With Predator Drones", 14 December 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Insinna, "Get ready for another fight over the future of the MQ-9 Reaper", Defense News, 26 May 2021 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Insinna, "Get ready for another fight over the future of the MQ-9 Reaper", Defense News, 26 May 2021; Cooper, "Pentagon chief says he spoke to his Russian counterpart about the drone incident.", The New York Times, March 15, 2023; "Selected Acquisition Report (SAR): MQ-9 UAS Reaper", Washington Headquarters Services, December 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: SOCOM Wants to Deploy MQ-9 Drones to Remote Areas – Military.com, 16 September 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. "US Air Force MQ-9 Camera Footage: Russian Su-27 Black Sea Collision", VOA News, 16 March 2023. facts only, no text reused. voanews.com
  11. Liebermann, "Russian fighter jet forces down US drone over Black Sea after intercept", CNN, March 15, 2023. facts only, no text reused. cnn.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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