The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, one component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS)) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the United States Air Force (USAF). The MQ-9 and other UAVs are referred to as Remotely Piloted Vehicles/Aircraft (RPV/RPA) by the USAF to indicate ground control by humans.
The MQ-9 is a larger, heavier, more capable aircraft than the earlier General Atomics MQ-1 Predator and can be controlled by the same ground systems. The Reaper has a 950-shaft-horsepower (712 kW) turboprop engine (compared to the Predator's piston engine). The greater power allows the Reaper to carry 15 times more ordnance payload and cruise at about three times the speed of the MQ-1.
The aircraft is monitored and controlled, including weapons employment, by aircrew in the Ground Control Station (GCS). The MQ-9 is the first hunter-killer UAV designed for long-endurance surveillance. In 2006, Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force General T. Michael Moseley said: "We've moved from using UAVs primarily in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance roles before Operation Iraqi Freedom, to a true hunter-killer role with the Reaper."
The USAF operated over 300 MQ-9 Reapers . Several MQ-9 aircraft have been retrofitted with equipment upgrades to improve performance in "high-end combat situations", and all new MQ-9s will have those upgrades. 2035 is the projected end of the service life of the MQ-9 fleet. The average unit cost of an MQ-9 is estimated at $ million The Reaper is also used by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the militaries of several other countries. The MQ-9 has been further developed into the MQ-9B, which (based on mission and payload) are referred to by General Atomics as SkyGuardian or SeaGuardian.
Development
Origins The General Atomics "Predator B-001", a proof-of-concept aircraft, first flew on 2 February 2001. Abraham Karem is the designer of the Predator. The B-001 was powered by an AlliedSignal Garrett TPE331-10T turboprop engine with . It had an airframe that was based on the standard Predator airframe, except with an enlarged fuselage and wings lengthened from to . The B-001 had a speed of and could carry a payload of to an altitude of with an endurance of 30 hours.
The company refined the design, taking it in two separate directions. The first was a jet-powered version; "Predator B-002" was fitted with a Williams FJ44-2A turbofan engine with thrust. It had payload capacity of , a ceiling of and endurance of 12 hours. The USAF ordered two aircraft for evaluation, delivered in 2007. The two prototype airframes B-001 and B-002 have been retired to the USAF museum at Wright-Patterson AFB. B-002 was originally equipped with the FJ-44 engine but it was removed and a TPE-331-10T was installed so that the USAF could take delivery of two aircraft in the same configuration.
The second direction the design took, referred to by GA as the "Altair", was the "Predator B-003", which has a new airframe with an wingspan and a takeoff weight of approximately . Like the Predator B-001, it is powered by a TPE-331-10YGD turboprop. This variant has a payload capacity of , a maximum ceiling of , and an endurance of 36 hours.Note: endurance figures vary greatly from source to source. The current figure being publicized by the USAF is 14 hours.
In October 2001, the USAF signed a contract for an initial pair of Predator Bs (001 and 002) for evaluation. Designated YMQ-9s due to their prototype role, they were delivered in 2002. The USAF referred to it as "Predator B" until it was renamed "Reaper". The USAF aimed for the Predator B to provide an improved "deadly persistence" capability, flying over a combat area night-and-day waiting for a target to present itself, complementing piloted attack aircraft, typically used to drop larger quantities of ordnance on a target, while a cheaper RPV can operate almost continuously using ground controllers working in shifts, but carrying less ordnance.
Operation
MQ-9 Reaper crews (pilots and sensor operators), stationed at bases such as Creech Air Force Base, near Las Vegas, Nevada, can hunt for targets and observe terrain using multiple sensors, including a thermographic camera. One claim was that the onboard camera is able to read a license plate from away. An operator's command takes 1.2 seconds to reach the drone via a satellite link.
The MQ-9 is fitted with six stores pylons. The inner stores pylons can carry a maximum of each and allow carriage of external fuel tanks. The mid-wing stores pylons can carry a maximum of each, while the outer stores pylons can carry a maximum of each. An MQ-9 with two external fuel tanks and of munitions has an endurance of 42 hours. The Reaper has an endurance of 14 hours when fully loaded with munitions.
The MQ-9 carries a variety of weapons including the GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb, the AGM-114 Hellfire II air-to-ground missiles, the AIM-9 Sidewinder, GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb. Tests are underway to allow for the addition of the AIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missile.
By October 2007, the USAF owned nine Reapers, and by December 2010 had 57 with plans to buy another 272, for a total of 329 Reapers. Critics have stated that the USAF's insistence on qualified pilots flying RPVs is a bottleneck to expanding deployment. USAF Major General William Rew stated on 5 August 2008, "For the way we fly them right now"—fully integrated into air operations and often flying missions alongside manned aircraft—"we want pilots to fly them." This reportedly has exacerbated losses of USAF aircraft in comparison with US Army operations. In March 2011, U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Robert Gates stated that, while manned aircraft are needed, the USAF must recognize "the enormous strategic and cultural implications of the vast expansion in remotely piloted vehicles..." and stated that as the service buys manned fighters and bombers, it must give equal weight to unmanned drones and "the service's important role in the cyber and space domains."
the USAF had taken delivery of 287 out of 366 MQ-9 Reapers on contract with General Atomics. The total program quantity is set at 433, including Foreign Military Sales.
In 2013, the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) sought the ability to pack up an MQ-9 in less than eight hours, fly it anywhere in the world aboard a C-17 Globemaster III, and then have it ready to fly in another eight hours to support special operations teams at places with no infrastructure. MQ-1 and MQ-9 drones must fly aboard cargo aircraft to travel long distances as they lack the refueling technology or speed to travel themselves; the C-17 is large enough to carry the aircraft and support systems and can land on short runways. Pilots traveling with the Reaper will use the ground control station to launch and land the aircraft, while most of the flying will be done by US-based pilots.SOCOM Wants to Deploy MQ-9 Drones to Remote Areas – Military.com, 16 September 2013
Testbed and upgrades In November 2012, Raytheon completed ground verification tests for the ADM-160 MALD and MALD-J for integration onto the Reaper for an unmanned suppression of enemy air defenses capability.Raytheon and General Atomics team-up to integrate MALD onto Reaper – Flightglobal.com, 13 February 2013 On 12 April 2013, a company-owned MQ-9 equipped with a jamming pod and digital receiver/exciter successfully demonstrated its electronic warfare capability at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, performing its mission in coordination with over 20 participating aircraft.Predator B Successfully Demonstrates Electronic Attack Capability in USMC Exercise – Deagel.com, 13 August 2013 A second electronic warfare test, fitted with the Northrop Grumman Pandora EW System, was conducted on 22 October 2013 with other unmanned aircraft and Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowlers, showing effectiveness in a multi-node approach against a more capable IADS.GA-ASI & Northrop Grumman Showcase Add’l Unmanned EA Attack Capabilities in 2nd USMC Exercise – sUASNews.com, 22 January 2014
In 2011, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) reported its interest in using the Reaper and its MTS-B sensor to provide firing quality data for early interception of ballistic missile launches. The MDA is exploring concepts to use the UAV's EO/IR sensor to achieve "launch-on-remote" capabilities with missile interceptors before detection by Aegis radars. At least two aircraft would be needed to triangulate a target to provide high-fidelity data. The MTS-B includes short and mid-wave IR bands, optimal for tracking launch and rocket burn.US Missile Defense Agency Testing Reaper as Missile Hunter – UASvision.com, 24 August 2011
In 2013, the MDA terminated plans to build a follow-on to the two orbiting Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) satellites due to near-term costs, opting to continue testing the Reaper for ballistic missile target discrimination. The MDA planned to test the improved MTS-C sensor, which adds a long-wave IR detector optimized for tracking cold bodies such as missiles and warheads after booster burnout, or plumes and exhaust. The goal was to use data from multiple high-flying UAVs to provide an offboard cue to launch an SM-3 missile from an Aegis ship.MDA Eyes UAVs For Discrimination, Boost-Phase Kill – Aviationweek.com, 16 August 2013 Two Reapers demonstrated their ability to track ballistic missiles using their MTS-B EO/IR turret during a test in late June 2016.USAF Reapers demonstrate missile tracking capability – Flightglobal.com, 16 August 2016
In June 2015, a study by the USAF's Scientific Advisory Board identified several improvements for operating the Reaper in contested airspace; adding readily available sensors, weapons, and threat detection and countermeasures could increase situational awareness and enable riskier deployments. Suggestions included a radar warning receiver (RWR) to know when it's being targeted, air-to-air and miniature air-to-ground weapons, manned-unmanned teaming, multi-UAV control, automatic take-offs and landings, and precision navigation and timing systems to fly in GPS-denied areas. Another idea was redesigned ground control stations with user-friendly video game-like controllers and touchscreen maps to access data without overwhelming operators.The Air Force Wants To Make Its Drones Smarter and Deadlier – Defenseone.com, 3 August 2015USAF science panel recommends MQ-9, RQ-4 improvement plan – Flightglobal.com, 5 August 2015
In October 2015, Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for ISR Robert Otto suggested redesigning the MQ-9's GCS to be operated by one person for most missions rather than two (to fly and work the sensors) to simplify operations and reduce manpower requirements by hundreds of sensor operators. Introducing an auto-land capability would also reduce the Reaper's manpower requirements to staff launch and recovery teams.USAF intel chief proposes single-operator MQ-9 cockpit – Flightglobal.com, 28 October 2015 Automatic take-off and landing capabilities are already present in the RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-1C Gray Eagle, and are planned to be provided to the MQ-9 in 2017. The Air Force requires the manually loaded Reaper to operate from a runway at least long, but automated take-offs and landings would enable it to operate from a runway.USAF to automate MQ-9 takeoffs and landings – Flightglobal.com, 4 May 2016