9/21/2023 0 Comments Mq 9 reaper![]() ![]() “Our MQ-9As have helped the Indian Navy to cover over 14 million square miles of operating area,” Linden Blue, CEO of GA, had said.ĪLSO READ: How India has one-upped China with its dual aircraft-carrier exercise ![]() In November 2022, General Atomics said these leased drones completed 10,000 flight hours during a two-year period since their first flight on 21 November 2020. These drones, which have an endurance of over 30 hours, have been deployed to keep an eye on Chinese military activities along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) following the 2020 Galwan Valley stand-off between the two countries, reported Times of India (TOI). The Indian Navy has been operating two unarmed SeaGuardian drones on lease since September 2020. The maritime variant of the MQ-9B drone is called SeaGuardian, while the other variant is known as SkyGuardian. The RQ-1/MQ-1Predator was retired by the USAF in 2017, with Reaper becoming the forces’ primary unmanned aircraft. The predecessor of Reaper, the Predator, came to be known for its use during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, where it caused a high number of civilian casualties in “precision strikes”, noted The Guardian. The UAV is remotely operated by a two-member crew, comprising the pilot and an aircrew member to operate the sensors and weapons.Īs per the US Air Force, the Reaper is capable of employing “eight laser-guided missiles, air-to-ground missile-114 Hellfire, which possess highly accurate, low-collateral damage, anti-armour and anti-personnel engagement capabilities.” The ‘M’ stands for multi-role, the ‘Q’ refers to a remotely piloted aircraft system and the ‘9’ means the ninth in the series of remotely piloted aircraft systems, noted the US Air Force (USAF). Reuters File PhotoĪs per GA-ASI, the MQ-9 Reaper drone is equipped to carry multiple mission payloads to include “Electro-optical/Infrared (EO/IR), Lynx multi-mode Radar, multi-mode maritime surveillance radar, Electronic Support Measures (ESM), laser designators, and various weapons and payload packages”. The Reaper has a two-member crew, comprising the pilot and sensor operator. It has a 240 Knots True Airspeed (KTAS) and a 1746 kilogram payload capacity, including 1361 kilograms of external stores. The Reaper is 11 metres long and has a wingspan of over 22 metres. ![]()
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