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The MQ-9 Reaper is an armed, multi-mission, medium-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft that is employed primarily as an intelligence-collection asset.
The Reaper evolved out of General Atomics’ preceding MQ-1 Predator design. While the Predator had been fundamentally a surveillance ‘drone’ that could also undertake armed missions, this was to be pretty much the opposite – a chiefly armed missions-tasked design. Working to the same general template, General Atomics’ designers lengthened the Predator’s fuselage, extended its wings by 18 feet, upped its payload capacity by 500 per cent and gave it a much more powerful engine. The resultant aircraft had its first flight on 2 February 2001. Eight months later, the USAF requested two prototype airframes for testing purposes. These ‘YMQ-9s’ (‘Y’ indicating their prototype status) were supplied the following year.
The MQ-9 Reaper can be completely assembled and put inside a single container to be ferried to any part of the world. Such a container fits include the cargo hold of a Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules transport aircraft, making the MQ-9 fully air-transportable. The UAV’s maximum payload is 3,850 pounds, of which up to 2,300 pounds can be ordnance. Six weapons rails can be loaded with a combination of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs or GBU-38 JDAMs (Joint Direct Attack Munitions). Pre-launch, these Hellfires are shown the way ahead by a laser range finder. Other key MQ-9 Reaper features include Raytheon’s AN/AAS-52 multispectral targeting sensor suite. This incorporates both infrared and electro-optical sensors which can work independently or in combination. If the full weapons load is carried, the MQ-9 can carry out flight missions lasting up to 23 hours but, in the unarmed configuration, flight endurance increases by seven hours to 30 hours.
Power is supplied by a 950 horsepower Honeywell TPE331-10 turboprop engine, giving the Reaper a top speed of around 230 miles per hour. An integrated DEEC (Digital Electronics Engine Control) system boosts this engine’s output and efficiency levels, especially when the MQ-9 is flying at lower altitudes.
A standard Reaper unit comprises two trained operators – one acting as its pilot, the other handling its sensors – plus spare parts, a GCS (Ground Control Station) and several MQ-9s. Satellite-transmitted, input signals from these ground operators take 1.2 seconds to be relayed to in-flight Reapers. In-built triple redundant flight controls (involving tripled-up quantities of certain components) mean that, if a flight systems failure occurs, there’s two lines of back-up.
Capt. Ryan Jodoi, a UAV pilot, flies an MQ-9 Reaper while Airman 1st Class Patrick Snyder controls a full motion video camera at Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan, March 13, 2009, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The USAF has more in service than anyone else. They are part of its Air Combat and Special Operations commands, plus the Air National Guard and US Customs and Border Protection.
Crew: Two ground personnel: pilot and sensor operator
Weapons: AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, GBU-12 laser-guided bombs, GBU-38 and GBU-49 JDAMs
First flown: 2 February 2001
from copybook.com & others
The Reaper evolved out of General Atomics’ preceding MQ-1 Predator design. While the Predator had been fundamentally a surveillance ‘drone’ that could also undertake armed missions, this was to be pretty much the opposite – a chiefly armed missions-tasked design. Working to the same general template, General Atomics’ designers lengthened the Predator’s fuselage, extended its wings by 18 feet, upped its payload capacity by 500 per cent and gave it a much more powerful engine. The resultant aircraft had its first flight on 2 February 2001. Eight months later, the USAF requested two prototype airframes for testing purposes. These ‘YMQ-9s’ (‘Y’ indicating their prototype status) were supplied the following year.
The MQ-9 Reaper can be completely assembled and put inside a single container to be ferried to any part of the world. Such a container fits include the cargo hold of a Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules transport aircraft, making the MQ-9 fully air-transportable. The UAV’s maximum payload is 3,850 pounds, of which up to 2,300 pounds can be ordnance. Six weapons rails can be loaded with a combination of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs or GBU-38 JDAMs (Joint Direct Attack Munitions). Pre-launch, these Hellfires are shown the way ahead by a laser range finder. Other key MQ-9 Reaper features include Raytheon’s AN/AAS-52 multispectral targeting sensor suite. This incorporates both infrared and electro-optical sensors which can work independently or in combination. If the full weapons load is carried, the MQ-9 can carry out flight missions lasting up to 23 hours but, in the unarmed configuration, flight endurance increases by seven hours to 30 hours.
Power is supplied by a 950 horsepower Honeywell TPE331-10 turboprop engine, giving the Reaper a top speed of around 230 miles per hour. An integrated DEEC (Digital Electronics Engine Control) system boosts this engine’s output and efficiency levels, especially when the MQ-9 is flying at lower altitudes.
A standard Reaper unit comprises two trained operators – one acting as its pilot, the other handling its sensors – plus spare parts, a GCS (Ground Control Station) and several MQ-9s. Satellite-transmitted, input signals from these ground operators take 1.2 seconds to be relayed to in-flight Reapers. In-built triple redundant flight controls (involving tripled-up quantities of certain components) mean that, if a flight systems failure occurs, there’s two lines of back-up.
Capt. Ryan Jodoi, a UAV pilot, flies an MQ-9 Reaper while Airman 1st Class Patrick Snyder controls a full motion video camera at Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan, March 13, 2009, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The USAF has more in service than anyone else. They are part of its Air Combat and Special Operations commands, plus the Air National Guard and US Customs and Border Protection.
Crew: Two ground personnel: pilot and sensor operator
Weapons: AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, GBU-12 laser-guided bombs, GBU-38 and GBU-49 JDAMs
First flown: 2 February 2001
from copybook.com & others
