MQ-9 Reaper Totally Explained

Everything about The Mq-9 Reaper totally explained

The MQ-9 Reaper (originally the RQ-9 Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for use by the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, and the British Royal Air Force. The MQ-9 is the Air Force's first purpose-designed hunter-killer UAV designed for long-endurance, high-altitude surveillance.
   The MQ-9 is a larger and more capable aircraft than the earlier MQ-1 Predator. It can use MQ-1's ground systems. The MQ-9 has a 950-shaft-horsepower turboprop engine, far more powerful than the Predator's piston engine. The increase in power allows the Reaper to carry 15 times more ordnance and cruise at three times the speed of the MQ-1.
   GA refined the design, taking it in two separate directions. The first was with a jet-powered version. The "Predator B-002" was fitted with a Williams FJ44-2A turbofan engine with 10.2 kN (2,300 lbf, 1,040 kgf) thrust. It had payload capacity of 475 pounds (215 kilograms), a ceiling of 60,000 feet (18.3 kilometers) and endurance of 12 hours. The U.S. Air Force has reportedly ordered two airframes for evaluation (delivery scheduled for 2007), and in at least one source this version is referred to as the RQ-1 Predator C.
   The second was the "Predator B-003", called by GA the "Altair", which has a new airframe with an 84-feet (25.6 m) wingspan and a takeoff weight of about 7,000 pounds (3,175 kilograms). Like the Predator B-001, it's powered by a TP-331-10T turboprop. This variant has a payload capacity of 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms), a maximum ceiling of 52,000 feet (15.8 kilometers), and an endurance of 36 hours.

Air Force version

In October 2001, the US Air Force signed a contract with GA to purchase an initial pair of Predator B-003s for evaluation, with follow-up orders for production machines. The first test MQ-9s were delivered to the Air Force in 2002. The name "Altair" didn't follow the aircraft into testing, with the Air Force continuing to refer to the system as "Predator B" until it was renamed Reaper ("Altair" instead became the designation for the unarmed NASA version); this is confusing, however, as the manufacturer uses the term to refer to the smaller B-001 prototype. and was expected to decide whether to order full-rate production in 2009.
On 15 July 2007, the Associated Press reported that the MQ-9 would deploy into Iraq somewhere between the fall of that year or the spring of the next. Also mentioned was the building of a expansion of the concrete ramp area used for Predator drones at Balad, the biggest U.S. air base in Iraq, presumably for the staging of Reapers.
On 28 October 2007 the AirForce Times reported an MQ-9 had achieved its first 'kill', firing a Hellfire missile against "Afghanistan insurgents in the Deh Rawood region of the mountainous Oruzgan province. The strike was “successful”, the United States Central Command Air Forces said.

Navy version

General Atomics has designed a navalized version of the Reaper, named the "Mariner", for carrier operations. The production Mariner would be turboprop-powered, with folding wings for carrier storage, shorter and more rugged landing gear, an arresting hook, cut-down or eliminated ventral flight surfaces and six stores pylons with a total load of 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms). The Mariner was developed to meet the Navy's Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) program requirements, but lost to the Northrop Grumman RQ-4N.

NASA version

NASA had initially expressed some interest in a production version of the B-002 turbofan-powered variant, This aircraft was used extensively to survey the Southern California wildfires in 2007. The data was used to deploy firefighters to areas of the highest need.

Homeland Security version

The United States Department of Homeland Security initially ordered one Predator B for border patrol duty, referred to as MQ-9 CBP-101. It began operations October 4, 2005, but on April 25, 2006, this aircraft crashed in the Arizona desert. The NTSB determined (Record Identification: CHI06MA121) that the cause of the crash was most likely a pilot error by the aircraft's ground-based pilot in the use of a checklist. During its operational period, the aircraft flew 959 hours on patrol and had a part in 2,309 arrests. It also contributed to the seizure of four vehicles and 8,267 pounds of marijuana. Because of these successes, a second Predator B, called "CBP-104" (initially referred to as "CBP-102"), was delivered in September 2006, and commenced limited border protection operations on 18 October 2006.
The President’s FY 2006 Emergency Supplemental budget request added $45 million for the Predator B program, and the FY 2007 Homeland Security Appropriations bill adds an additional $20 million. In October 2006, GA-ASI announced a $33.9 million contract to supply two more Predator B systems by Fall 2007. The Department intends to eventually have four aircraft operational.
The CBP-101 was equipped with the Lynx SAR, AX-15 payload, ARC-210 radios, and other sensors and communications equipment; CBP-104 was enhanced with K_u band satellite command and control link and MTS-A EO/IR sensors.

United Kingdom

On 27 September 2006, the U.S. Congress was notified by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency that the United Kingdom was seeking to purchase a pair of MQ-9 Reapers. They will be operated by No. 39 Squadron RAF. A third MQ-9 is in the process of being purchased by the RAF.
On 9 November 2007, the UK Ministry of Defence announced that its MQ-9 Reapers had began operations in Afghanistan against the Taliban. On January 4 2008 it became public that the United Kingdom wants to purchase a further 10 MQ-9 Reapers, giving the Royal Air Force a total fleet of 13 Reaper UAVs.
On 22 April 2008, the Ministry of Defence announced that it was forced to destroy one of the Reapers operating in Afghanistan to prevent sensitive material falling into the hands of the Taliban after it crash landed.

Operational history

The California Office of Emergency Services requested NASA support for the Esperanza Fire, and in under 24 hours the General Atomics Altair (NASA variant of the Predator B) was launched on a 16 hour mission to map the perimeter of the fire. The Altair had just returned from a test mission a day before the Esperanza Fire started. The fire mapping research is a joint project with NASA and the US Forest Service.
On 25 April 2006, an MQ-9 operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection crashed near Nogales, Arizona. The pilot, remotely operating the vehicle from Sierra Vista Municipal Airport, reported a momentary lockup of the displays on the primary control console. The pilot switched control to a secondary console, and in doing so inadvertently shut down the vehicle's engine, causing it to descend out of reach of communications and ultimately collide with terrain.
On 1 May 2007, the 432d Wing of the United States Air Force was activated to operate MQ-9 Reaper as well as MQ-1 Predator UAVs at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. The pilots are expected to fly combat mission in Iraq and Afghanistan in the summer of 2007.

As of October 2007 the USAF is flying Operational missions in Afghanistan. As of March 6, 2008, according to USAF Lieutenant General Gary North, the Reaper has attacked 16 targets in Afghanistan using 500-lb bombs and Hellfire missiles. On 4 February 2008 the Reaper dropped a bomb on a truck carrying an insurgent mortar and team near Kandahar.

Operators

Royal Air Force

United States Air Force

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Specifications

Several minor variations of the RQ-9/MQ-9 exist; these values are indicative.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

Contractor: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Incorporated

Landing Type: runway

Launch Type: runway

Power Plant: Honeywell TP331-10 turboprop engine, 670 kW PERFORMANCE

Ceiling: 50,000 ft (15 km)

Operational altitude: 25,000 ft (7.5 km)

Endurance: 16-28 h

Range: 3682 mi (3200 nautical miles)

Fuel Capacity: 1,300 kg (3,907 lb)

Length: 11 m (36 ft)

Payload: 1700 kg (3800 lb)

Maximum speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 knots)

Cruise speed: 160 km/h (100 mph, 85 knots)

Weight: 1676 kg (3700 lb) empty; 4760 kg (10,500 lb) max

Wingspan: 20 m (66 ft) ARMAMENT

6 Hardpoints under the wings, can carry a payload mix of 1,500 lb. on each of its two inboard weapons stations, 500-600 lb. on the two middle stations and 150-200 lb. on the outboard stations.

2x AIM-9 Sidewinder air to air missiles

4x FIM-92 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles

2x AIM-120C AMRAAM air to air missiles

2x AGM-65 Maverick air to ground missiles

8x AGM-114 Hellfire air to ground missiles

2x GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs

2x GBU-38 JDAM air to ground bombs COST

Unit cost: USD 8 million (approximate, varies by configuration) Further Information

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