In six months of war, Iran destroyed 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones, representing one quarter of the fleet deployed by the United States Air Force.
In six mon
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In six months of war, Iran destroyed 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones, representing one quarter of the fleet deployed by the United States Air Force.
In six months of war, Iran destroyed 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones, representing one quarter of the fleet deployed by the United States Air Force. Faced with this heavy blow, revealed in August by three U.S. officials, the Pentagon has decided to develop a cheaper model.
The MQ-9 Reaper, designed by General Atomics and introduced into service in 2007, has a wingspan of 20 meters and a takeoff weight of approximately 5 tons. It can operate at altitudes of up to 15,000 meters. Its main advantage lies in its endurance: it can remain airborne for up to 27 hours continuously, or even around 30 hours in a pure surveillance configuration, at a cruising speed of close to 300 km/h.
This endurance makes it a fundamental tool for aerial surveillance, thanks to an electro-optical turret combining infrared cameras, day/night sensors and synthetic aperture radar, but also for the elimination of ground targets: the aircraft can carry up to 1.7 tons of weapons, including Hellfire missiles and laser-guided bombs. It has flown over Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Yemen for nearly two decades, becoming a cornerstone of U.S. aerial surveillance. This resilience and versatility explain why its mass destruction in the Middle East is causing so much concern.
The shortage of aircraft did not begin this year. At the start of this fiscal year, the Air Force had only 165 MQ-9As out of the 189 it was supposed to have, a shortfall inherited from Operation Rough Rider against the Houthis in Yemen in March of last year.
The war against Iran further aggravated the losses. In May, General David Tabor acknowledged before the Senate that the fleet had been reduced to approximately 135 aircraft. Allies also lost this type of aircraft. An Iranian attack on Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait destroyed an Italian Reaper.
This hemorrhaging has forced the Pentagon to change its strategy. General Christopher Niemi, responsible for modernizing the Air Force, confirmed on Thursday that discussions about the post-Reaper era had accelerated. “The rate at which we are losing these aircraft today is concerning,” he said. Instead of relying on a single high-end drone, the Pentagon is now seeking fleets of cheap, expendable aircraft.
The Mass Modular Aircraft program aims to manufacture a drone with capabilities comparable to those of the Reaper—strike, intelligence, jamming and radio relay—but at an approximate cost of $10 million per unit, compared with the $30–50 million cost of the current model.
Acquiring MQ-9B SkyGuardian aircraft from General Atomics would have been the fastest option, but their high cost and the discontinuation of MQ-9A production last year ruled out that possibility. While waiting for a replacement, the Air Force is studying the purchase of existing airframes, and a request for proposals launched on July 7 has already attracted more than fifty manufacturers interested in designing the future drone.
Source: Mpr21.org
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