RQ-1 Predator
Encyclopedia
The General Atomics
MQ-1 Predator is an unmanned aerial vehicle
(UAV) used primarily by the United States Air Force
(USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA). Initially conceived in the early 1990s for reconnaissance
and forward observation roles, the Predator carries cameras and other sensors but has been modified and upgraded to carry and fire two AGM-114 Hellfire
missile
s or other munitions. The aircraft
, in use since 1995, has seen combat
over Afghanistan
, Pakistan
, Bosnia
, Serbia
, Iraq, Yemen
, Libya
, and Somalia
.
The USAF describes the Predator as a "Tier II" MALE UAS (medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system). The UAS consists of four aircraft or "air vehicles" with sensors, a ground control station
(GCS), and a primary satellite link communication suite. Powered by a Rotax
engine and driven by a propeller, the air vehicle can fly up to 400 nautical miles (740.8 km) to a target, loiter overhead for 14 hours, then return to its base.
Following 2001, the RQ-1 Predator drone became the primary UAV used for offensive operations by the USAF and the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) in Afghanistan and the Pakistani tribal areas
. It has also been deployed in other locations. Because offensive uses of the Predator are classified
, U.S. military officials have reported an appreciation for the intelligence and reconnaissance-gathering abilities of UAVs but declined to publicly discuss their offensive use.
Civilian applications have included border enforcement and scientific studies.
The Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) and the Pentagon
began experimenting with reconnaissance
drones in the early 1980s. The CIA preferred small, lightweight, unobtrusive drones, in contrast to the USAF. In the early 1990s, the CIA became interested in the "Amber", a drone developed by Leading Systems Inc. The company's owner, Abraham Karem was the former chief designer for the Israeli Air Force, and had immigrated to the United States in the late 1970s. Karem's company had since gone bankrupt and been bought up by a U.S. defense contractor. The CIA secretly bought five drones (now called the "Gnat") from them. Karem agreed to produce a quiet engine for the vehicle, which had until then sounded like "a lawnmower in the sky". The new development became known as the "Predator".
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA) was awarded a contract to develop the Predator in January 1994, and the initial Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) phase lasted from January 1994 to June 1996. The aircraft itself was a derivative of the GA Gnat 750 UAV. During the ACTD phase, three systems were purchased from GA, comprising twelve aircraft and three ground control stations.
From April through May, 1995, the Predator ACTD aircraft were flown as a part of the Roving Sands 1995 exercises in the U.S. The exercise operations were successful, and this led to the decision to deploy the system to the Balkans later in the summer of 1995.
During the ACTD, Predators were operated by a combined Army/Navy team managed by the Navy's Joint Program Office for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (JPO-UAV) and first deployed to Gjader, Albania, for operations in the Former Yugoslavia in Spring 1995.
By the start of the United States Afghan campaign in 2001
, the USAF had acquired 60 Predators, and said it had lost 20 of them in action. Few if any of the losses were from enemy action, the worst problem apparently being foul weather, particularly icy conditions. Some critics within the Pentagon saw the high loss rate as a sign of poor operational procedures. In response to the losses caused by cold weather flight conditions, a few of the later Predators obtained by the USAF were fitted with de-icing
systems, along with an uprated turbocharged engine and improved avionics. This improved "Block 1" version was referred to as the "RQ-1B", or the "MQ-1B" if it carried munitions; the corresponding air vehicle designation
was "RQ-1L" or "MQ-1L".
The Predator system was initially designated the RQ-1 Predator. The "R" is the United States Department of Defense
designation for reconnaissance and the "Q" refers to an unmanned aircraft system. The "1" describes it as being the first of a series of aircraft systems built for unmanned reconnaissance. Pre-production systems were designated as RQ-1A, while the RQ-1B (not to be confused with the RQ-1 Predator B, which became the MQ-9 Reaper
) denotes the baseline production configuration. These are designations of the system as a unit. The actual aircraft themselves were designated RQ-1K for pre-production models, and RQ-1L for production models. In 2002, the USAF officially changed the designation to MQ-1 ("M" for multi-role) to reflect its growing use as an armed aircraft.
s and the drone's response. But by 2000 improvements in communications systems (perhaps by use of the USAF's JSTARS
system) made it possible, at least in theory, to fly the drone remotely from great distances. It was no longer necessary to use close-up radio signals during the Predator's takeoff and ascent. The entire flight could be controlled by satellite from any command center with the right equipment. The CIA proposed to attempt over Afghanistan the first fully remote Predator flight operations, piloted from the agency's headquarters at Langley
.
The Predator air vehicle and sensors are controlled from the ground station via a C-band
line-of-sight
data link or a Ku-band
satellite data link for beyond-line-of-sight operations. During flight operations the crew in the ground control station is a pilot and two sensor operators. The aircraft is equipped with the AN/AAS-52 Multi-spectral Targeting System, a color nose camera (generally used by the pilot for flight control), a variable aperture day-TV camera, and a variable aperture infrared camera (for low light/night). Previously, Predators were equipped with a synthetic aperture radar
for looking through smoke, clouds or haze, but lack of use validated its removal to reduce weight and conserve fuel. The cameras produce full motion video and the synthetic aperture radar produced still frame radar images. There is sufficient bandwidth on the datalink for two video sources to be used at one time, but only one video source from the sensor ball can be used at any time due to design limitations. Either the daylight variable aperture or the infrared electro-optical sensor may be operated simultaneously with the synthetic aperture radar, if equipped.
All later Predators are equipped with a laser designator
that allows the pilot to identify targets for other aircraft and even provide the laser-guidance for manned aircraft. This laser is also the designator for the AGM-114 Hellfire
that are carried on the MQ-1.
Each Predator air vehicle can be disassembled into six main components and loaded into a container nicknamed "the coffin." This enables all system components and support equipment to be rapidly deployed worldwide. The largest component is the ground control station and it is designed to roll into a C-130 Hercules
. The Predator primary satellite link consists of a 6.1 meter (20 ft) satellite dish and associated support equipment. The satellite link provides communications between the ground station and the aircraft when it is beyond line-of-sight and is a link to networks that disseminate secondary intelligence. The RQ-1A system needs 1,500 by 40 meters (5,000 by 125 ft) of hard surface runway with clear line-of-sight to each end from the ground control station to the air vehicles. Initially, all components needed to be located on the same airfield.
Currently, the U.S. Air Force uses a concept called "Remote-Split Operations" where the satellite datalink is located in a different location and is connected to the GCS through fiber optic cabling. This allows Predators to be launched and recovered by a small "Launch and Recovery Element" and then handed off to a "Mission Control Element" for the rest of the flight. This allows a smaller number of troops to be deployed to a forward location, and consolidates control of the different flights in one location.
The improvements in the MQ-1B production version include an ARC-210 radio, an APX-100 IFF/SIF with mode 4, a glycol-weeping "wet wings" ice mitigation system, up-graded turbo-charged engine, fuel injection, longer wings, dual alternators as well as other improvements.
On May 18, 2006, the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) issued a certificate of authorization which will allow the M/RQ-1 and M/RQ-9
aircraft to be used within U.S. civilian airspace to search for survivors of disasters. Requests had been made in 2005 for the aircraft to be used in search and rescue
operations following Hurricane Katrina
, but because there was no FAA authorization in place at the time, the assets were not used. The Predator's infrared camera
with digitally-enhanced zoom has the capability of identifying the heat signature of a human body from an altitude of 3 km (10,000 ft), making the aircraft an ideal search and rescue tool.
The longest declassified Predator flight to date lasted for 40 hours, 5 minutes. The total flight time has reached 1 million hours as of April 2010.
office after the Kosovo campaign in order to accelerate tests of the UAV in a strike role, fitted with reinforced wings and stores pylons to carry munitions, as well as a laser designator
. This effort led to a series of tests, on February 21, 2001, in which the Predator fired three Hellfire
anti-armor
missiles, scoring hits on a stationary tank with all three missiles. The scheme was put into service, with the armed Predators given the new designation of MQ-1A. Given that a Predator is very unobtrusive and the Hellfire is supersonic, such a combination gives little warning of attack.
In the winter of 2000–2001, after seeing the results of Predator reconnaissance in Afghanistan (see below), Cofer Black
, head of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center
(CTC), became a "vocal advocate" of arming the Predator with missiles to target Osama bin Laden
in the country. He also believed that CIA pressure and practical interest was causing the USAF's armed Predator program to be significantly accelerated. Black, and "Richard", who was in charge of the CTC's Bin Laden Issue Station
, continued to press during 2001 for a Predator armed with Hellfire missiles.
Further weapons tests occurred between May 22 and June 7, 2001, with mixed results. While missile accuracy was excellent, there were some problems with missile fuzing...." In the first week of June, in the Nevada Desert, a Hellfire missile was successfully launched on a replica of bin Laden's Afghanistan Tarnak
residence. A missile launched from a Predator exploded inside one of the replica's rooms; it was concluded that any people in the room would have been killed. However, the armed Predator did not go into action before the September 11 attacks.
The USAF has also investigated using the Predator to drop battlefield ground sensors and to carry and deploy the "Finder" mini-UAV.
were built, ALTUS I for the Naval Postgraduate School
and ALTUS II for the NASA
ERAST Project
in 1997 and 1996, respectively.
As of March 2009, the U.S. Air Force had 195 MQ-1 Predators and 28 MQ-9 Reaper
s in operation. Predators and Reapers fired missiles 244 times in Iraq and Afghanistan
in 2007 and 2008. A report in March 2009 indicated that U.S. Air Force had lost 70 Predators in air crashes during its operational history. Fifty-five were lost to equipment failure, operator error, or weather. Four have been shot down in Bosnia
, Kosovo
, or Iraq. Eleven more were lost to operational accidents on combat missions.
On March 3, 2011, the U.S. Air Force took delivery of its last MQ-1 Predator in a ceremony at General Atomics' flight operations facility. Since its first flight in July 1994, the MQ-1 series has accumulated over 900,000 flight hours and maintained a fleet fully mission capable rate over 90 percent.
led the evaluation program, but in April 1996, the Secretary of Defense
selected the U.S. Air Force as the operating service for the RQ-1A Predator system. The 3rd Special Operations Squadron at Cannon Air Force Base
, 11th
, 15th
, and 17th Reconnaissance Squadron
s, Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, and the Air National Guard
's 163d Reconnaissance Wing
at March Air Reserve Base
, California, currently operate the MQ-1.
In 2005, the U.S. Department of Defense recommended retiring Ellington Field's 147th Fighter Wing
's F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets (a total of 15 aircraft), which was approved by the Base Realignment and Closure
committee. They will be replaced with 12 MQ-1 Predator UAVs, and the new unit should be fully equipped and outfitted by 2009. The wing's combat support arm will remain intact. The 272nd Engineering Installation Squadron, an Air National Guard unit currently located off-base, will move into Ellington Field in its place.
The 3rd Special Operations Squadron is currently the largest Predator squadron in the United States Air Force
.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
is operating an unknown number of Predators.
On June 21, 2009, the United States Air Force announced that it was creating a new MQ-1 squadron at Whiteman Air Force Base that would become operational by February 2011. In September 2011, the US Air Guard announced that despite current plans for budget cuts, they will continue to operate the Air Force’s combat UAVs, including MQ-1B.
The first overseas deployment took place in the Balkans, from July to November 1995, under the name Nomad Vigil. Operations were based in Gjader
, Albania
. At least two Predators were lost during Nomad Vigil, one of them to hostile fire.
Several others were destroyed in the course of Operation Noble Anvil, the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
:
was impressed by the resulting video footage; he hoped that the drones might eventually be used to target Bin Laden with cruise missiles or armed aircraft. Clarke's enthusiasm was matched by that of Cofer Black
, head of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center (CTC), and Charles Allen
, in charge of the CIA's intelligence-collection operations. The three men backed an immediate trial run of reconnaissance flights. Ten out of the ensuing 15 Predator missions over Afghanistan were rated successful. On at least two flights, a Predator spotted a tall man in white robes at bin Laden's Tarnak Farm compound outside Kandahar
; the figure was subsequently deemed to be "probably bin Laden". By October 2000, deteriorating weather conditions made it difficult for the Predator to fly from its base in Uzbekistan, and the flights were suspended.
On February 16, 2001 at Nellis Air Force base, a Predator successfully fired three Hellfire AGM-114C missiles into a target. The newly armed Predators were given the designation of MQ-1A. In the first week of June, 2001, a Hellfire missile was successfully launched on a replica of bin Laden's Afghanistan Tarnak residence built at a Nevada testing site. A missile launched from a Predator exploded inside one of the replica's rooms; it was concluded that any people in the room would have been killed. On September 4, 2001 (after the Bush cabinet approved a Qaeda/Taliban plan) CIA chief Tenet order the agency to resume reconnaissance flights. The Predators were now weapons-capable, but didn't carry missiles because the host country (presumably Uzbekistan) hadn't granted permission.
Subsequent to 9/11, approval was quickly granted to ship the missiles, and the Predator aircraft and missiles reached their overseas location on September 16, 2001. The first mission was flown over Kabul
and Kandahar on September 18 without carrying weapons. Subsequent host nation approval was granted on October 7 and the first armed mission was flown on the same day.
has allegedly been operating the drones out of Shamsi airfield
in Pakistan to attack militants in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas
.
Since May 2005 the MQ-1 Predator fitted with Hellfire missiles has been successfully used to kill a number of prominent al Qaeda
operatives. The use of the Predator has also resulted in a number of civilian deaths, particularly on January 13, 2006 when 18 civilians were killed. According to Pakistani authorities, the U.S. strike was based on faulty intelligence.
An Iraqi MiG-25 shot down a Predator performing reconnaissance over the no fly zone in Iraq on December 23, 2002. This was the first time in history a conventional aircraft and a drone had engaged each other in combat. Predators had been armed with AIM-92 Stinger
air-to-air missiles, and were being used to "bait" Iraqi fighters, then run. In this incident, the Predator did not run, but instead fired one of its Stingers. The Stinger's heat-seeker became "distracted" by the MiG's missile and missed the MiG. The Predator was hit by the MiG's missile and destroyed. Another two Predators had been shot down earlier by Iraqi SAMs, one of them on September 11, 2001.
During the initial phases of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, a number of older Predators were stripped down and used as decoys to entice Iraqi air defenses to expose themselves by firing. From July 2005 to June 2006, the 15th Reconnaissance Squadron
participated in more than 242 separate raids, engaged 132 troops in contact-force protection actions, fired 59 Hellfire missiles; surveyed 18,490 targets, escorted four convoys, and flew 2,073 sorties for more than 33,833 flying hours.
Iraqi insurgents intercepted video feeds, which were not encrypted, using a $26 piece of Russian software named SkyGrabber
. The encryption for the ROVER
feeds were removed for performance reasons.
) was again used in a military strike. A Hellfire missile was fired at a car in Yemen
, killing Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi
, an al-Qaeda leader thought to be responsible for the USS Cole bombing
. It was the first direct U.S. strike in the War on Terrorism
outside Afghanistan.
In 2004, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC-TV) international affairs program Foreign Correspondent investigated this targeted killing
and the involvement of then U.S. Ambassador as part of a special report titled "The Yemen Option". The report also examined the evolving tactics and countermeasures in dealing with Al Qaeda inspired attacks.
On 30 September 2011, a Hellfire fired from an American UAV killed Anwar al-Awlaki
, an American-born cleric and Al Qaeda leader, in Yemen.. Also killed was Samir Khan
, an American born in Saudi Arabia, who was editor of al-Qaeda's English-language webzine, Inspire (magazine)
.
. An MQ-1B fired its first hellfire in the conflict on April 23, 2011, striking a BM-21 Grad. There are also some suggestions that a Predator was involved in the final attack against Gaddafi.
since the end of 2004 and by the Royal Air Force
since 2006. Two civil-registered unarmed MQ-1s have been operated by the Office of the National Security Advisor in the Philippines since 2006.
MQ-1 series
MQ-1C
Note: although some sources refer to the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper as the "Predator B", it is a separate, much larger aircraft and is not a variant of the RQ/MQ-1 Predator airframe design.
General Atomics
General Atomics is a nuclear physics and defense contractor headquartered in San Diego, California. General Atomics’ research into fission and fusion matured into competencies in related technologies, allowing the company to expand into other fields of research...
MQ-1 Predator is an unmanned aerial vehicle
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
(UAV) used primarily by the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
(USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA). Initially conceived in the early 1990s for reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
and forward observation roles, the Predator carries cameras and other sensors but has been modified and upgraded to carry and fire two AGM-114 Hellfire
AGM-114 Hellfire
The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-surface missile developed primarily for anti-armor use. It has multi-mission, multi-target precision-strike capability, and can be launched from multiple air, sea, and ground platforms. The Hellfire missile is the primary 100 lb-class air-to-ground precision...
missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
s or other munitions. The aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
, in use since 1995, has seen combat
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
over Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
, Pakistan
War in North-West Pakistan
The War in North-West Pakistan is an armed conflict between the Pakistan Armed Forces and armed religious groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan , Lashkar-e-Islam, TSNM, Arab and Central Asian militants including Al-Qaeda, regional armed movements and elements of organized crime.The armed...
, Bosnia
NATO intervention in Bosnia
The NATO intervention in Bosnia consisted of a series of actions undertaken by NATO to establish and then preserve peace during and after the Bosnian War...
, Serbia
1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...
, Iraq, Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, Libya
2011 Libyan civil war
The 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...
, and Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
.
The USAF describes the Predator as a "Tier II" MALE UAS (medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system). The UAS consists of four aircraft or "air vehicles" with sensors, a ground control station
Ground control station
A ground control station is a land- or sea-based control center that provides the facilities for human control of unmanned vehicles in the air or in space. A GCS could be used to control unmanned aerial vehicles or rockets within or above the atmosphere....
(GCS), and a primary satellite link communication suite. Powered by a Rotax
Rotax
BRP-Powertrain GmbH & Co KG , commonly known simply as Rotax, is an Austrian engine manufacturer. It develops and produces four-stroke and advanced two-stroke engines for Bombardier Recreational Products products as well as for motorcycles, karts,...
engine and driven by a propeller, the air vehicle can fly up to 400 nautical miles (740.8 km) to a target, loiter overhead for 14 hours, then return to its base.
Following 2001, the RQ-1 Predator drone became the primary UAV used for offensive operations by the USAF and the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA) in Afghanistan and the Pakistani tribal areas
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
. It has also been deployed in other locations. Because offensive uses of the Predator are classified
Classified information in the United States
The United States government classification system is currently established under Executive Order 13526, the latest in a long series of executive orders on the topic. Issued by President Barack Obama in 2009, Executive Order 13526 replaced earlier executive orders on the topic and modified the...
, U.S. military officials have reported an appreciation for the intelligence and reconnaissance-gathering abilities of UAVs but declined to publicly discuss their offensive use.
Civilian applications have included border enforcement and scientific studies.
Development
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA) and the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
began experimenting with reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
drones in the early 1980s. The CIA preferred small, lightweight, unobtrusive drones, in contrast to the USAF. In the early 1990s, the CIA became interested in the "Amber", a drone developed by Leading Systems Inc. The company's owner, Abraham Karem was the former chief designer for the Israeli Air Force, and had immigrated to the United States in the late 1970s. Karem's company had since gone bankrupt and been bought up by a U.S. defense contractor. The CIA secretly bought five drones (now called the "Gnat") from them. Karem agreed to produce a quiet engine for the vehicle, which had until then sounded like "a lawnmower in the sky". The new development became known as the "Predator".
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA) was awarded a contract to develop the Predator in January 1994, and the initial Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) phase lasted from January 1994 to June 1996. The aircraft itself was a derivative of the GA Gnat 750 UAV. During the ACTD phase, three systems were purchased from GA, comprising twelve aircraft and three ground control stations.
From April through May, 1995, the Predator ACTD aircraft were flown as a part of the Roving Sands 1995 exercises in the U.S. The exercise operations were successful, and this led to the decision to deploy the system to the Balkans later in the summer of 1995.
During the ACTD, Predators were operated by a combined Army/Navy team managed by the Navy's Joint Program Office for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (JPO-UAV) and first deployed to Gjader, Albania, for operations in the Former Yugoslavia in Spring 1995.
By the start of the United States Afghan campaign in 2001
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
, the USAF had acquired 60 Predators, and said it had lost 20 of them in action. Few if any of the losses were from enemy action, the worst problem apparently being foul weather, particularly icy conditions. Some critics within the Pentagon saw the high loss rate as a sign of poor operational procedures. In response to the losses caused by cold weather flight conditions, a few of the later Predators obtained by the USAF were fitted with de-icing
Deicing
For snow and ice control on roadways and similar facilities, see Snow removalDe-icing is defined as removal of snow, ice or frost from a surface...
systems, along with an uprated turbocharged engine and improved avionics. This improved "Block 1" version was referred to as the "RQ-1B", or the "MQ-1B" if it carried munitions; the corresponding air vehicle designation
1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system
The 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system is a unified designation system introduced by the United States Department of Defense on 18 September 1962 for all the U.S. military aircraft. Prior to this date, each armed service used their own nomenclature system...
was "RQ-1L" or "MQ-1L".
The Predator system was initially designated the RQ-1 Predator. The "R" is the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
designation for reconnaissance and the "Q" refers to an unmanned aircraft system. The "1" describes it as being the first of a series of aircraft systems built for unmanned reconnaissance. Pre-production systems were designated as RQ-1A, while the RQ-1B (not to be confused with the RQ-1 Predator B, which became the MQ-9 Reaper
MQ-9 Reaper
The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is an unmanned aerial vehicle , capable of remote controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for use by the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, the CIA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Royal...
) denotes the baseline production configuration. These are designations of the system as a unit. The actual aircraft themselves were designated RQ-1K for pre-production models, and RQ-1L for production models. In 2002, the USAF officially changed the designation to MQ-1 ("M" for multi-role) to reflect its growing use as an armed aircraft.
Command and sensor systems
During the campaign in the former Yugoslavia, a Predator's pilot would sit with several payload specialists in a van near the runway of the drone's operating base. Direct radio signals controlled the drone's takeoff and initial ascent. Then communications shifted to military satellite networks linked to the pilot's van. Pilots experienced a delay of several seconds between tugging their joystickJoystick
A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks, also known as 'control columns', are the principal control in the cockpit of many civilian and military aircraft, either as a center stick or...
s and the drone's response. But by 2000 improvements in communications systems (perhaps by use of the USAF's JSTARS
E-8 Joint STARS
The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System is a battle management and command and control aircraft of the United States Air Force...
system) made it possible, at least in theory, to fly the drone remotely from great distances. It was no longer necessary to use close-up radio signals during the Predator's takeoff and ascent. The entire flight could be controlled by satellite from any command center with the right equipment. The CIA proposed to attempt over Afghanistan the first fully remote Predator flight operations, piloted from the agency's headquarters at Langley
Langley, Virginia
Langley is an unincorporated community in the census-designated place of McLean in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States.The community was essentially absorbed into McLean many years ago, although there is still a Langley High School...
.
The Predator air vehicle and sensors are controlled from the ground station via a C-band
C band
The C band is a name given to certain portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, including wavelengths of microwaves that are used for long-distance radio telecommunications. The IEEE C-band - and its slight variations - contains frequency ranges that are used for many satellite communications...
line-of-sight
Line-of-sight propagation
Line-of-sight propagation refers to electro-magnetic radiation or acoustic wave propagation. Electromagnetic transmission includes light emissions traveling in a straight line...
data link or a Ku-band
Ku band
The Kμ band is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies. This symbol refers to —in other words, the band directly below the K-band...
satellite data link for beyond-line-of-sight operations. During flight operations the crew in the ground control station is a pilot and two sensor operators. The aircraft is equipped with the AN/AAS-52 Multi-spectral Targeting System, a color nose camera (generally used by the pilot for flight control), a variable aperture day-TV camera, and a variable aperture infrared camera (for low light/night). Previously, Predators were equipped with a synthetic aperture radar
Synthetic aperture radar
Synthetic-aperture radar is a form of radar whose defining characteristic is its use of relative motion between an antenna and its target region to provide distinctive long-term coherent-signal variations that are exploited to obtain finer spatial resolution than is possible with conventional...
for looking through smoke, clouds or haze, but lack of use validated its removal to reduce weight and conserve fuel. The cameras produce full motion video and the synthetic aperture radar produced still frame radar images. There is sufficient bandwidth on the datalink for two video sources to be used at one time, but only one video source from the sensor ball can be used at any time due to design limitations. Either the daylight variable aperture or the infrared electro-optical sensor may be operated simultaneously with the synthetic aperture radar, if equipped.
All later Predators are equipped with a laser designator
Laser designator
A laser designator is a laser light source which is used to designate a target. Laser designators provide targeting for laser guided bombs, missiles, or precision artillery munitions, such as the Paveway series of bombs, Lockheed-Martin's Hellfire, or the Copperhead round, respectively.When a...
that allows the pilot to identify targets for other aircraft and even provide the laser-guidance for manned aircraft. This laser is also the designator for the AGM-114 Hellfire
AGM-114 Hellfire
The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-surface missile developed primarily for anti-armor use. It has multi-mission, multi-target precision-strike capability, and can be launched from multiple air, sea, and ground platforms. The Hellfire missile is the primary 100 lb-class air-to-ground precision...
that are carried on the MQ-1.
Deployment methodology
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
. The Predator primary satellite link consists of a 6.1 meter (20 ft) satellite dish and associated support equipment. The satellite link provides communications between the ground station and the aircraft when it is beyond line-of-sight and is a link to networks that disseminate secondary intelligence. The RQ-1A system needs 1,500 by 40 meters (5,000 by 125 ft) of hard surface runway with clear line-of-sight to each end from the ground control station to the air vehicles. Initially, all components needed to be located on the same airfield.
Currently, the U.S. Air Force uses a concept called "Remote-Split Operations" where the satellite datalink is located in a different location and is connected to the GCS through fiber optic cabling. This allows Predators to be launched and recovered by a small "Launch and Recovery Element" and then handed off to a "Mission Control Element" for the rest of the flight. This allows a smaller number of troops to be deployed to a forward location, and consolidates control of the different flights in one location.
The improvements in the MQ-1B production version include an ARC-210 radio, an APX-100 IFF/SIF with mode 4, a glycol-weeping "wet wings" ice mitigation system, up-graded turbo-charged engine, fuel injection, longer wings, dual alternators as well as other improvements.
On May 18, 2006, the Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
(FAA) issued a certificate of authorization which will allow the M/RQ-1 and M/RQ-9
MQ-9 Reaper
The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is an unmanned aerial vehicle , capable of remote controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for use by the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, the CIA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Royal...
aircraft to be used within U.S. civilian airspace to search for survivors of disasters. Requests had been made in 2005 for the aircraft to be used in search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
operations following Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, but because there was no FAA authorization in place at the time, the assets were not used. The Predator's infrared camera
Thermographic camera
A thermographic camera or infrared camera is a device that forms an image using infrared radiation, similar to a common camera that forms an image using visible light...
with digitally-enhanced zoom has the capability of identifying the heat signature of a human body from an altitude of 3 km (10,000 ft), making the aircraft an ideal search and rescue tool.
The longest declassified Predator flight to date lasted for 40 hours, 5 minutes. The total flight time has reached 1 million hours as of April 2010.
Armed version development
The USAF handed the Predator over to the service's Big SafariBig Safari
Big Safari is a United States Air Force program which provides management, direction, and control of the acquisition, modification, and logistics support for special purpose weapons systems. The program itself receives some direction from NASIC. It is headquartered in Greenville, Texas and has...
office after the Kosovo campaign in order to accelerate tests of the UAV in a strike role, fitted with reinforced wings and stores pylons to carry munitions, as well as a laser designator
Laser designator
A laser designator is a laser light source which is used to designate a target. Laser designators provide targeting for laser guided bombs, missiles, or precision artillery munitions, such as the Paveway series of bombs, Lockheed-Martin's Hellfire, or the Copperhead round, respectively.When a...
. This effort led to a series of tests, on February 21, 2001, in which the Predator fired three Hellfire
AGM-114 Hellfire
The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-surface missile developed primarily for anti-armor use. It has multi-mission, multi-target precision-strike capability, and can be launched from multiple air, sea, and ground platforms. The Hellfire missile is the primary 100 lb-class air-to-ground precision...
anti-armor
Anti-tank warfare
Anti-tank warfare was created by the need to seek technology and tactics to destroy tanks and their supporting infantry during the First World War...
missiles, scoring hits on a stationary tank with all three missiles. The scheme was put into service, with the armed Predators given the new designation of MQ-1A. Given that a Predator is very unobtrusive and the Hellfire is supersonic, such a combination gives little warning of attack.
In the winter of 2000–2001, after seeing the results of Predator reconnaissance in Afghanistan (see below), Cofer Black
Cofer Black
Joseph Cofer Black is an American counter-terrorism expert and consultant. He had a 28-year career in the Directorate of Operations at the Central Intelligence Agency, culminating in his appointment as Director of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center in June 1999...
, head of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center
Counterterrorist Center
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's Counterterrorism Center was established in 1986. It is not to be confused with the National Counterterrorism Center, a separate entity.-Foundation and early years:...
(CTC), became a "vocal advocate" of arming the Predator with missiles to target Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
in the country. He also believed that CIA pressure and practical interest was causing the USAF's armed Predator program to be significantly accelerated. Black, and "Richard", who was in charge of the CTC's Bin Laden Issue Station
Bin Laden Issue Station
The Bin Laden Issue Station was a unit of the Central Intelligence Agency dedicated to tracking Osama bin Laden.Soon after its creation the Station developed a new, deadlier vision of bin Laden's activities. In 1999 the CIA inaugurated a grand "Plan" against al-Qaeda, but struggled to find the...
, continued to press during 2001 for a Predator armed with Hellfire missiles.
Further weapons tests occurred between May 22 and June 7, 2001, with mixed results. While missile accuracy was excellent, there were some problems with missile fuzing...." In the first week of June, in the Nevada Desert, a Hellfire missile was successfully launched on a replica of bin Laden's Afghanistan Tarnak
Tarnak Farms
Tarnak Farms refers to a former Afghan training camp near Kandahar.The camp is very near the Kandahar airport.The Al-Qaeda camp is alleged to have offered training constructing bombs, using poisons, urban warfare, and assassination...
residence. A missile launched from a Predator exploded inside one of the replica's rooms; it was concluded that any people in the room would have been killed. However, the armed Predator did not go into action before the September 11 attacks.
The USAF has also investigated using the Predator to drop battlefield ground sensors and to carry and deploy the "Finder" mini-UAV.
NASA and NPGS unarmed research versions
Two unarmed versions, known as the General Atomics ALTUSGeneral Atomics ALTUS
- External links :* * *...
were built, ALTUS I for the Naval Postgraduate School
Naval Postgraduate School
The Naval Postgraduate School is an accredited research university operated by the United States Navy. Located in Monterey, California, it grants master's degrees, Engineer's degrees and doctoral degrees...
and ALTUS II for the NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
ERAST Project
ERAST Project
The Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology, or ERAST program was a NASA program to develop cost-effective, slow-flying unmanned aerial vehicles that can perform long-duration science missions at altitudes above 60,000 feet. The project included a number of different technology...
in 1997 and 1996, respectively.
MQ-1C Warrior/Grey Eagle
The U.S. Army selected the MQ-1C Warrior as the winner of the Extended-Range Multi-Purpose UAV competition August 2005, and the type became operational in 2009.Operational history
MQ-9 Reaper
The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is an unmanned aerial vehicle , capable of remote controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for use by the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, the CIA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Royal...
s in operation. Predators and Reapers fired missiles 244 times in Iraq and Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
in 2007 and 2008. A report in March 2009 indicated that U.S. Air Force had lost 70 Predators in air crashes during its operational history. Fifty-five were lost to equipment failure, operator error, or weather. Four have been shot down in Bosnia
NATO intervention in Bosnia
The NATO intervention in Bosnia consisted of a series of actions undertaken by NATO to establish and then preserve peace during and after the Bosnian War...
, Kosovo
1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...
, or Iraq. Eleven more were lost to operational accidents on combat missions.
On March 3, 2011, the U.S. Air Force took delivery of its last MQ-1 Predator in a ceremony at General Atomics' flight operations facility. Since its first flight in July 1994, the MQ-1 series has accumulated over 900,000 flight hours and maintained a fleet fully mission capable rate over 90 percent.
Squadrons and operational units
During the initial ACTD phase, the United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
led the evaluation program, but in April 1996, the Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
selected the U.S. Air Force as the operating service for the RQ-1A Predator system. The 3rd Special Operations Squadron at Cannon Air Force Base
Cannon Air Force Base
Cannon Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately southwest of Clovis, New Mexico. It is under the jurisdiction of Air Force Special Operations Command ....
, 11th
11th Reconnaissance Squadron
The US Air Force 11th Reconnaissance Squadron flies MQ-1 Predator UAV's and is currently stationed at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada. The 11th oversees the training of pilots and sensor operators assigned to the MQ-1....
, 15th
15th Reconnaissance Squadron
15th Reconnaissance Squadron flies MQ-1 Predator UAV's and is currently stationed at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada. The 15th Reconnaissance Squadron is one of the first armed Remotely Piloted Aircraft squadrons. The squadron provides combatant commanders with persistent ISR,...
, and 17th Reconnaissance Squadron
17th Reconnaissance Squadron
The 17th Reconnaissance Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 57th Operations Group, and stationed at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada.-Overview:...
s, Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, and the Air National Guard
Air National Guard
The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
's 163d Reconnaissance Wing
163d Reconnaissance Wing
The 163d Reconnaissance Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force located at March Joint Air Reserve Base, California. It is a component of the California Air National Guard, and is one of the first ANG units to fly the MQ-1 Predator...
at March Air Reserve Base
March Air Reserve Base
March Joint Air Reserve Base is located in Riverside County, California between the cities of Riverside and Moreno Valley. It is the home to the Air Force Reserve Command's 4th Air Force Headquarters and the 452d Air Mobility Wing , the largest air mobility wing of the 4th Air Force...
, California, currently operate the MQ-1.
In 2005, the U.S. Department of Defense recommended retiring Ellington Field's 147th Fighter Wing
147th Reconnaissance Wing
The United States Air Force's 147th Reconnaissance Wing is a Texas Air National Guard reconnaissance unit located at Ellington Field, Houston, Texas.-History:The 147th Fighter Interceptor Group was activated in May 1958 by the Texas Air National Guard...
's F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets (a total of 15 aircraft), which was approved by the Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense and Congress to close excess military installations and realign the total asset inventory to reduce...
committee. They will be replaced with 12 MQ-1 Predator UAVs, and the new unit should be fully equipped and outfitted by 2009. The wing's combat support arm will remain intact. The 272nd Engineering Installation Squadron, an Air National Guard unit currently located off-base, will move into Ellington Field in its place.
The 3rd Special Operations Squadron is currently the largest Predator squadron in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing U.S. regulations, including trade, customs and immigration. CBP is the...
is operating an unknown number of Predators.
On June 21, 2009, the United States Air Force announced that it was creating a new MQ-1 squadron at Whiteman Air Force Base that would become operational by February 2011. In September 2011, the US Air Guard announced that despite current plans for budget cuts, they will continue to operate the Air Force’s combat UAVs, including MQ-1B.
In the Balkans
Gjader Air Base
Gjadër Air Base is a military airport located in Gjadër, Lezhë County, Albania. It is north of the city of Lezhë and is also known as Lezhë-Zadrima Air Base....
, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
. At least two Predators were lost during Nomad Vigil, one of them to hostile fire.
Several others were destroyed in the course of Operation Noble Anvil, the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
:
- One aircraft (serial 95-3017) was lost on April 18, 1999, following fuel system problems and icing.
- A second aircraft (serial 95-3019) was lost on May 13, when it was shot down by a Serbian Strela-1MSA-9 GaskinThe warhead was primarily intended to impact the target directly, and had contact and magnetic fuzes, but also contained a back-up optical proximity fuze to detonate the warhead in case of a near miss...
surface-to-air missileSurface-to-air missileA surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
over the village of Biba. A Serbian TV crew videotaped this incident. - A third aircraft (serial number 95-3021) crashed on May 20 near the town of Talinovci, and Serbian news reported that this, too, was the result of anti-aircraft fire.
Afghanistan
In 2000 a joint CIA-Pentagon effort was agreed to locate Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. Dubbed "Afghan Eyes", it involved a projected 60-day trial run of Predators over the country. The first experimental flight was held on September 7, 2000. White House security chief Richard A. ClarkeRichard A. Clarke
Richard Alan Clarke was a U.S. government employee for 30 years, 1973–2003. He worked for the State Department during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush appointed him to chair the Counter-terrorism Security Group and to a seat on the United States National...
was impressed by the resulting video footage; he hoped that the drones might eventually be used to target Bin Laden with cruise missiles or armed aircraft. Clarke's enthusiasm was matched by that of Cofer Black
Cofer Black
Joseph Cofer Black is an American counter-terrorism expert and consultant. He had a 28-year career in the Directorate of Operations at the Central Intelligence Agency, culminating in his appointment as Director of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center in June 1999...
, head of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center (CTC), and Charles Allen
Charles Allen
Charles Allen may refer to:* Charles Allen , Canadian hurdler* Charles Allen , previously Chief Executive of ITV plc., and prior to that Granada plc.* Charles Allen , Massachusetts judge...
, in charge of the CIA's intelligence-collection operations. The three men backed an immediate trial run of reconnaissance flights. Ten out of the ensuing 15 Predator missions over Afghanistan were rated successful. On at least two flights, a Predator spotted a tall man in white robes at bin Laden's Tarnak Farm compound outside Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
; the figure was subsequently deemed to be "probably bin Laden". By October 2000, deteriorating weather conditions made it difficult for the Predator to fly from its base in Uzbekistan, and the flights were suspended.
On February 16, 2001 at Nellis Air Force base, a Predator successfully fired three Hellfire AGM-114C missiles into a target. The newly armed Predators were given the designation of MQ-1A. In the first week of June, 2001, a Hellfire missile was successfully launched on a replica of bin Laden's Afghanistan Tarnak residence built at a Nevada testing site. A missile launched from a Predator exploded inside one of the replica's rooms; it was concluded that any people in the room would have been killed. On September 4, 2001 (after the Bush cabinet approved a Qaeda/Taliban plan) CIA chief Tenet order the agency to resume reconnaissance flights. The Predators were now weapons-capable, but didn't carry missiles because the host country (presumably Uzbekistan) hadn't granted permission.
Subsequent to 9/11, approval was quickly granted to ship the missiles, and the Predator aircraft and missiles reached their overseas location on September 16, 2001. The first mission was flown over Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
and Kandahar on September 18 without carrying weapons. Subsequent host nation approval was granted on October 7 and the first armed mission was flown on the same day.
- On February 4, 2002, an armed Predator attacked a convoy of sport utility vehicleSport utility vehicleA sport utility vehicle is a generic marketing term for a vehicle similar to a station wagon, but built on a light-truck chassis. It is usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on- or off-road ability, and with some pretension or ability to be used as an off-road vehicle. Not all four-wheel...
s, killing a suspected al Qaeda leader. The intelligence community initially expressed doubt that he was Osama bin LadenOsama bin LadenOsama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
. - On March 4, 2002, a CIA-operated Predator fired a Hellfire missile into a reinforced Taliban machine gun bunker that had pinned down an Army Ranger75th Ranger Regiment (United States)The 75th Ranger Regiment , also known as Rangers, is a Special Operations light infantry unit of the United States Army. The Regiment is headquartered in Fort Benning, Georgia with battalions in Fort Benning, Hunter Army Airfield and Joint Base Lewis-McChord...
team whose CH-47 ChinookCH-47 ChinookThe Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its top speed of 170 knots is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s...
had crashed on the top of Takur Ghar Mountain in Afghanistan. Previous attempts by flights of F-15F-15E Strike EagleThe McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle is an all-weather multirole fighter, derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. The F-15E was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high speed interdiction without relying on escort or electronic warfare aircraft. United States Air Force F-15E Strike...
and F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft were unable to destroy the bunker. This action took place during what has become known as the "Battle of Robert's RidgeBattle of Takur GharThe Battle of Takur Ghar was a short but intense military engagement between United States special operations forces and Taliban insurgents fought in March 2002, atop Takur Ghar mountain, Afghanistan. For the U.S...
", a part of Operation AnacondaOperation AnacondaOperation Anaconda took place in early March 2002 in which the United States military and CIA Paramilitary Officers, working with allied Afghan military forces, and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization and non NATO forces attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the Shahi-Kot...
. This appears to be the first use of such a weapon in a close air supportClose air supportIn military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
role. - On April 6, 2011, the Predator scored its first friendly fire deaths when observers at a remote location did not relay their doubts about the target to the operators at Creech Air Force BaseCreech Air Force BaseCreech Air Force Base , formerly known as Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field, is a United States Air Force base located one mile north of the central business district of Indian Springs, in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is about northwest of Las Vegas and northwest of Nellis Air...
.
Pakistan
Since at least 2004, the U.S. Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
has allegedly been operating the drones out of Shamsi airfield
Shamsi airfield
PAF Base Shamsi, also called Bandari is a Pakistan Air Force airbase located near Washki in the Balochistan province of Pakistan....
in Pakistan to attack militants in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
.
Since May 2005 the MQ-1 Predator fitted with Hellfire missiles has been successfully used to kill a number of prominent al Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
operatives. The use of the Predator has also resulted in a number of civilian deaths, particularly on January 13, 2006 when 18 civilians were killed. According to Pakistani authorities, the U.S. strike was based on faulty intelligence.
Iraq
AIM-92 Stinger
The AIM-92 Stinger or ATAS is an air-to-air missile developed from the shoulder-launched FIM-92 Stinger system, for use on helicopters such as the AH-64 Apache, Eurocopter Tiger and also UAVs such as the MQ-1 Predator...
air-to-air missiles, and were being used to "bait" Iraqi fighters, then run. In this incident, the Predator did not run, but instead fired one of its Stingers. The Stinger's heat-seeker became "distracted" by the MiG's missile and missed the MiG. The Predator was hit by the MiG's missile and destroyed. Another two Predators had been shot down earlier by Iraqi SAMs, one of them on September 11, 2001.
During the initial phases of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, a number of older Predators were stripped down and used as decoys to entice Iraqi air defenses to expose themselves by firing. From July 2005 to June 2006, the 15th Reconnaissance Squadron
15th Reconnaissance Squadron
15th Reconnaissance Squadron flies MQ-1 Predator UAV's and is currently stationed at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada. The 15th Reconnaissance Squadron is one of the first armed Remotely Piloted Aircraft squadrons. The squadron provides combatant commanders with persistent ISR,...
participated in more than 242 separate raids, engaged 132 troops in contact-force protection actions, fired 59 Hellfire missiles; surveyed 18,490 targets, escorted four convoys, and flew 2,073 sorties for more than 33,833 flying hours.
Iraqi insurgents intercepted video feeds, which were not encrypted, using a $26 piece of Russian software named SkyGrabber
SkyGrabber
SkyGrabber is a software that intercepts satellite data and downloads it.It was used by Iraqi insurgents from the group Kata'ib Hezbollah to intercept MQ-1 Predator drone video feeds....
. The encryption for the ROVER
ROVER
ROVER, which stands for Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver, is a system which allows ground forces, such as Forward Air Controllers , to see what an aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicle is seeing in real time by receiving images acquired by the aircraft's sensors on a laptop on the ground...
feeds were removed for performance reasons.
Yemen
On November 3, 2002, a CIA Predator (being flown by an Air Force pilot from a French military base, Camp Lemonnier, in DjiboutiDjibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
) was again used in a military strike. A Hellfire missile was fired at a car in Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, killing Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi
Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi
Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi aka Abu Ali al-Harithi was an al-Qaida operative and a citizen of Yemen who is suspected to have been the mastermind behind the October 2000 USS Cole bombing....
, an al-Qaeda leader thought to be responsible for the USS Cole bombing
USS Cole bombing
The USS Cole Bombing, or the USS Cole Incident, was a suicide attack against the United States Navy destroyer on October 12, 2000 while it was harbored and refueled in the Yemeni port of Aden. Seventeen American sailors were killed, and 39 were injured...
. It was the first direct U.S. strike in the War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
outside Afghanistan.
In 2004, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC-TV) international affairs program Foreign Correspondent investigated this targeted killing
Targeted killing
Targeted killing is the deliberate, specific targeting and killing, by a government or its agents, of a supposed terrorist or of a supposed "unlawful combatant" who is not in that government's custody...
and the involvement of then U.S. Ambassador as part of a special report titled "The Yemen Option". The report also examined the evolving tactics and countermeasures in dealing with Al Qaeda inspired attacks.
On 30 September 2011, a Hellfire fired from an American UAV killed Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki was an American and Yemeni imam who was an engineer and educator by training. According to U.S. government officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda...
, an American-born cleric and Al Qaeda leader, in Yemen.. Also killed was Samir Khan
Samir Khan
Samir ibn Zafar Khan was the Pakistani American editor and publisher of Inspire magazine, an English language online magazine reported to be published by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula , in which he authored articles such as "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom"...
, an American born in Saudi Arabia, who was editor of al-Qaeda's English-language webzine, Inspire (magazine)
Inspire (magazine)
Inspire is an English language online magazine reported to be published by the organization al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula . The use of the magazine is to increase the availability of their message without challenges to their value system. The magazine is one of the many ways AQAP uses the...
.
Libya
U.S Air Force MQ-1B Predators have been involved in reconnaissance and strike sorties in Operation Unified ProtectorOperation Unified Protector
Operation Unified Protector was an NATO operation enforcing United Nations Security Council resolutions 1970 and 1973 concerning the 2011 Libyan civil war and adopted on 17 February and 17 March respectively...
. An MQ-1B fired its first hellfire in the conflict on April 23, 2011, striking a BM-21 Grad. There are also some suggestions that a Predator was involved in the final attack against Gaddafi.
Other users
It has also been used by the Italian Air ForceAeronautica Militare
The Italian Air Force is the air force of the Italian Republic. It has held a prominent role in modern Italian military history...
since the end of 2004 and by the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
since 2006. Two civil-registered unarmed MQ-1s have been operated by the Office of the National Security Advisor in the Philippines since 2006.
Variants
RQ-1 series- RQ-1A : Pre-production designation for entire Predator UAV system – four aircraft, Ground Control Station (GCS), and Predator Primary Satellite Link (PPSL).
- RQ-1K : Pre-production designation for individual airframe.
- RQ-1B : Production designation for entire Predator UAV system.
- RQ-1L : Production designation for individual airframe.
MQ-1 series
- The M designation differentiates Predator airframes capable of carrying and deploying ordnance.
- MQ-1A Predator : Early airframes capable of carrying ordnance (AGM-114 Hellfire ATGM or AIM-92 StingerAIM-92 StingerThe AIM-92 Stinger or ATAS is an air-to-air missile developed from the shoulder-launched FIM-92 Stinger system, for use on helicopters such as the AH-64 Apache, Eurocopter Tiger and also UAVs such as the MQ-1 Predator...
). Nose-mounted AN/ZPQ-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar removed.
- MQ-1A Predator : Early airframes capable of carrying ordnance (AGM-114 Hellfire ATGM or AIM-92 Stinger
- MQ-1B Predator : Later airframes capable of carrying ordnance. Modified antenna fit, including introduction of spine-mounted VHF fin. Enlarged dorsal and ventral air intakes for Rotax engine.
- MQ-1B Block 10 / 15 : Current production aircraft include updated avionics, datalinks, and countermeasures, modified v-tail planes to avoid damage from ordnance deployment, upgraded AN/AAS-52 Multi-Spectral Targeting System, wing deicing equipment, secondary daylight and infrared cameras in the nose for pilot visual in case of main sensor malfunction, and a 3 ft (0.91 m) wing extension from each wingtip. Some older MQ-1A aircraft have been partially retrofitted with some Block 10 / 15 features, primarily avionics and the modified tail planes.
MQ-1C
- See MQ-1C Grey Eagle / Sky Warrior
Note: although some sources refer to the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper as the "Predator B", it is a separate, much larger aircraft and is not a variant of the RQ/MQ-1 Predator airframe design.
Operators
- Aeronautica MilitareAeronautica MilitareThe Italian Air Force is the air force of the Italian Republic. It has held a prominent role in modern Italian military history...
- 32° Stormo — FoggiaFoggiaFoggia is a city and comune of Apulia, Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known as the "granary of Italy".-History:...
, Amendola Air Force Base- 28° Gruppo
- 32° Stormo — Foggia
- Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
- No. 39 Squadron RAFNo. 39 Squadron RAFNo. 39 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the MQ-9 Reaper since 2007, operating from Creech AFB, Nevada, USA.-World War I:39 Squadron was founded at Hounslow Heath Aerodrome in April 1916 with B.E.2s and Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12s in an attempt to defend against German Zeppelin raids on...
- No. 39 Squadron RAF
- Turkish Air ForceTurkish Air ForceThe Turkish Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. It ranks 3rd in NATO in terms of fleet size behind the USAF and Royal Air Force with a current inventory of 798 aircraft .-Initial stages:...
; The Turkish Air Force has on order 6 MQ-1 Predators via the USA's Foreign Military SalesForeign Military SalesThe U.S. Department of Defense's Foreign Military Sales program facilitates sales of U.S. arms, defense equipment, defense services, and military training to foreign governments...
mechanism. The Turkish Air Force also currently operates 4 MQ-1 Predator systems on lease from the US as a stop gap measure. The leased MQ-1's are under Turkish command but operated by a joint Turkish-US unit. .
- United States Air ForceUnited States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
- Air Combat CommandAir Combat CommandAir Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....
- 432d Air Expeditionary Wing — Creech Air Force BaseCreech Air Force BaseCreech Air Force Base , formerly known as Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field, is a United States Air Force base located one mile north of the central business district of Indian Springs, in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is about northwest of Las Vegas and northwest of Nellis Air...
, NevadaNevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
- 11th Reconnaissance Squadron11th Reconnaissance SquadronThe US Air Force 11th Reconnaissance Squadron flies MQ-1 Predator UAV's and is currently stationed at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada. The 11th oversees the training of pilots and sensor operators assigned to the MQ-1....
- 15th Reconnaissance Squadron15th Reconnaissance Squadron15th Reconnaissance Squadron flies MQ-1 Predator UAV's and is currently stationed at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada. The 15th Reconnaissance Squadron is one of the first armed Remotely Piloted Aircraft squadrons. The squadron provides combatant commanders with persistent ISR,...
- 17th Reconnaissance Squadron17th Reconnaissance SquadronThe 17th Reconnaissance Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 57th Operations Group, and stationed at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada.-Overview:...
- 18th Reconnaissance Squadron18th Reconnaissance SquadronThe 18th Reconnaissance Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 432d Operations Group, and stationed at Creech Air Force Base Nevada.-Mission:...
- 11th Reconnaissance Squadron
- 49th Wing – Holloman Air Force BaseHolloman Air Force BaseHolloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located six miles southwest of the central business district of Alamogordo, a city in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. The base was named in honor of Col. George V. Holloman, a pioneer in guided missile research...
, New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
- 6th Reconnaissance Squadron
- 53d Wing53d WingThe 53d Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.-Mission:The 53d Wing serves as the focal point for the Combat Air Forces in electronic warfare, armament and avionics, chemical defense, reconnaissance, and aircrew training devices...
— Eglin Air Force BaseEglin Air Force BaseEglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 3 miles southwest of Valparaiso, Florida in Okaloosa County....
, Florida- 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron556th Test and Evaluation SquadronThe 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 53d Test and Evaluation Group, Detachment. 4 at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada.-Overview:...
— Creech Air Force BaseCreech Air Force BaseCreech Air Force Base , formerly known as Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field, is a United States Air Force base located one mile north of the central business district of Indian Springs, in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is about northwest of Las Vegas and northwest of Nellis Air...
, NevadaNevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
- 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron
- 432d Air Expeditionary Wing — Creech Air Force Base
- Air Force Special Operations CommandAir Force Special Operations CommandAir Force Special Operations Command is the Special Operations component of the United States Air Force and the US Air Force component command to the United States Special Operations Command , a unified command located at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida...
- 27th Special Operations Wing – Cannon Air Force BaseCannon Air Force BaseCannon Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately southwest of Clovis, New Mexico. It is under the jurisdiction of Air Force Special Operations Command ....
, New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
- 3d Special Operations Squadron3d Special Operations SquadronThe 3d Special Operations Squadron flies MQ-1 Predator Remotely Piloted Aircrafts and is currently located at Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico. The 3d SOS is under the command of the Air Force Special Operations Command.-History:...
- 3d Special Operations Squadron
- 58th Special Operations Wing58th Special Operations WingThe 58th Special Operations Wing is a combat unit of the United States Air Force stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. The 58 SOW is part of the Air Education and Training Command Nineteenth Air Force....
- 551st Special Operations Squadron551st Special Operations SquadronThe 551st Special Operations Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon AFB, New Mexico...
- 551st Special Operations Squadron
- 27th Special Operations Wing – Cannon Air Force Base
- Air Combat Command
- Air National GuardAir National GuardThe Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
- Texas Air National GuardTexas Air National GuardThe Texas Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Texas and a component of the Texas Military Forces...
- 147th Reconnaissance Wing147th Reconnaissance WingThe United States Air Force's 147th Reconnaissance Wing is a Texas Air National Guard reconnaissance unit located at Ellington Field, Houston, Texas.-History:The 147th Fighter Interceptor Group was activated in May 1958 by the Texas Air National Guard...
— Ellington Field- 111th Reconnaissance Squadron
- 147th Reconnaissance Wing
- California Air National GuardCalifornia Air National GuardThe California Air National Guard is the air component of the California National Guard. The California Air National Guard is headquartered at Sacramento, California.One of the duties of the California Air National Guard is defense of the United States...
- 163d Reconnaissance Wing163d Reconnaissance WingThe 163d Reconnaissance Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force located at March Joint Air Reserve Base, California. It is a component of the California Air National Guard, and is one of the first ANG units to fly the MQ-1 Predator...
— March Joint Air Reserve BaseMarch Joint Air Reserve BaseMarch Joint Air Reserve Base is located in Riverside County, California between the cities of Riverside and Moreno Valley. It is the home to the Air Force Reserve Command's 4th Air Force Headquarters and the 452d Air Mobility Wing , the largest air mobility wing of the 4th Air Force...
- 196th Reconnaissance Squadron196th Reconnaissance SquadronThe 196th Reconnaissance Squadron is a unit of the California Air National Guard. Its parent unit is the 163rd Reconnaissance Wing.-Mission:The 196th Reconnaissance Squadron's primary mission is to support the war on terrorism by providing reconnaissance, flying the MQ-1 Predator, 24 hours a day, 7...
- 196th Reconnaissance Squadron
- 163d Reconnaissance Wing
- North Dakota Air National GuardNorth Dakota Air National GuardThe North Dakota Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of North Dakota. It is, along with the North Dakota Army National Guard, an element of the North Dakota National Guard. It is considered a part of the United States Air Force, as well as of the state.-Mission:The mission...
- 119th Fighter Wing – Hector International AirportHector International AirportHector International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located three miles northwest of the central business district of Fargo, a city in Cass County, North Dakota, United States. It is owned by the City of Fargo Municipal Airport Authority.The airport was named after Martin...
- 178th Reconnaissance Squadron
- 119th Fighter Wing – Hector International Airport
- Arizona Air National GuardArizona Air National GuardThe Arizona Air National Guard is the branch of the United States Air National Guard operating within the state of Arizona. It was founded by Barry Goldwater, and was integrated two years before President Truman's military integration order.-Units:...
- 214th Reconnaissance Group214th Reconnaissance GroupThe 214th Reconnaissance Group is a group of the United States Air Force located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. It is a component of the Arizona Air National Guard, and is one of the first Air National Guard units to fly the MQ-1 Predator....
– Davis-Monthan Air Force BaseDavis-Monthan Air Force BaseDavis–Monthan Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located within the city limits, and approximately south-southeast of downtown, Tucson, Arizona....
- 214th Reconnaissance Squadron
- 214th Reconnaissance Group
- Texas Air National Guard
- Air Force Reserve CommandAir Force Reserve CommandThe Air Force Reserve Command is a major command of the U.S. Air Force with its headquarters at Robins AFB, Georgia.It stood up as a major command of the Air Force on 17 February 1997....
- 919th Special Operations Wing919th Special Operations WingThe 919th Special Operations Wing is an Air Force Reserve Command wing of the United States Air Force, operationally-gained by the Air Force Special Operations Command and based at Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field #3 / Duke Field, Florida.-Mission:The 919 SOW provides and maintains the MC-130E Combat...
– Duke FieldDuke FieldDuke Field , also known as Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field #3, is a military airport located three miles south of the central business district of Crestview, in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States-Units:...
- 2d Special Operations Squadron
- 919th Special Operations Wing
- Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence AgencyThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
- U.S. Customs and Border ProtectionU.S. Customs and Border ProtectionU.S. Customs and Border Protection is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing U.S. regulations, including trade, customs and immigration. CBP is the...
Specifications
See also
External links
- General Atomics Predator page
- MQ-1B Predator US Air Force Fact Sheet
- Predator UAV details on Army-Technology.com
- Predator page and UAV Sensor page on defense-update.com
- How the Predator Works – Howstuffworks.com
- British Daily Telegraph article – 'In Las Vegas a pilot pulls the trigger. In Iraq a Predator fires its missile'
- Accident report from March 20, 2006 MQ-1L crash
- Confirmed / documented NATO UAV losses in the Balkans
- Missile strike emphasizes Al-Qaida