May 13,
2008: There are only about a dozen American
MQ-9 Reapers in service (two of them British), with detachments in Afghanistan
and Iraq. No one will say exactly how many are where, but the ones in
Afghanistan have, in seven months, flown 320 missions (averaging 7.5 hours
each). That's about eleven sorties a week, indication 2-3 UAVs available during
that time. At least one of those is British, and one of those has crashed. The
Reaper unit in Afghanistan has a mix of
British and U.S. personnel, who operate all the Reapers in common.
Within the
next two years, the U.S. Air Force plans
to buy up to 70 MQ-9 Reapers (or Predator B). While the original Predator was a
reconnaissance aircraft that could carry weapons (two Hellfire missiles, each
weighing a hundred pounds), the Reaper was designed as a combat aircraft that
also does reconnaissance. The 4.7 ton Reaper has a wingspan of 66 feet and a
payload of 1.7 tons. The Reaper can carry over half a ton of GPS or laser
guided 500 pound bombs, as well as the 250 pound SDB, or Hellfire
missiles. Predators cost about $4.5
million each (with sensors, about half as much without), while the Reaper goes
for about $8.5 million (with sensors). The Reaper can only stay in the air for
up to 24 hours. But experience has shown that few missions require 24 hours
endurance. For that reason, the air force decided not to give the Reaper an
in-flight refueling capability. The Reaper also carries sensors equal to those
found in targeting pods like the Sniper XL or Litening, and flies at the same
20,000 foot altitude of most fighters using those pods. This makes the Reaper
immune to most ground fire, and capable of seeing, and attacking, anything down
there. All at one tenth of the price of a manned fighter aircraft. The air force expects to stop buying the
Predator in three years, and switch over to the Reaper, and the new U.S. Army
Sky Warrior (or "Predator C").
