US Air Force began looking for a replacement drone MQ-9 Reaper

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US Air Force began looking for a replacement drone MQ-9 Reaper

The US Air Force began to search for a new drone, which will replace the MQ-9 Reaper. According to the businessinsider.com portal, the US Air Force has officially issued a request for information (requests for information, RFI) to search for a new reconnaissance strike drone.

According to the portal, next year the Air Force will purchase the last batch of MQ-9 Reaper in the amount of 24 drones, after which it is planned to purchase new UAVs. According to the plans of the Air Force command, the new drone should be put into service in 2030, until that time the available MQ-9 Reaper fleet will be used. In total, taking into account the plans to purchase 24 drones, the US Air Force has received 337 drones over the years instead of the planned 363. The Air Force has refused to purchase the remaining drones.



The desire to replace the MQ-9 Reaper with another drone was reported back in March this year, when official information appeared that the U.S. Air Force was considering withdrawing the MQ-9 Reaper from service due to its vulnerability to modern air defense systems.

According to Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of State for Procurement, Technology and Logistics, the US Air Force is considering replacing the MQ-9 Reaper with cheaper reusable drones that are "not a pity to lose."

Note that the first flight of the drone MQ-9 Reaper took place on February 2, 2001. The drone is equipped with a turboprop engine. According to General Atomics, the Reaper, which has become the main strike UAV in the United States, has a flight duration of more than 27 hours, a maximum speed of up to 400 km / h and a cruising speed of up to 250 km / h, a ceiling of up to 15 km and a carrying capacity of 1740 kg with 6 suspension points.

The MQ-9 is equipped with a fault-tolerant flight control system and triple redundancy of the avionics system architecture. Able to carry Hellfire missiles with GOS and GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs, as well as GBU-38 satellite-guided bombs.

Intelligence and combat UAV MQ-9 are in service with the Air Force and the CIA, as well as the Air Force of Italy, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, France, the United Kingdom and other countries.
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    1. +5
      9 June 2020 15: 13
      They’re already changing, but here they cannot take the drums into service! (((
      1. 0
        9 June 2020 15: 19
        They’re already changing, but here they cannot take the drums into service! (((

        They thought that he was invulnerable, at such a price, but as it turned out - he was just a consumable ....
      2. +4
        9 June 2020 15: 27
        An expensive ripper leaves, over there as the Chinese spank batches of cheap ones.
      3. 0
        9 June 2020 15: 34
        Quote: Leader of the Redskins
        They are already changing, but here they cannot take the drums into service!


        Maybe it is necessary to change so soon, due to the fact that in due time they hurried up and adopted a not too successful UAV?
        Note that the first flight of the drone MQ-9 Reaper took place on February 2, 2001.

        According to information available on the network, in March 2007 the first MQ-9 Reaper UAV was built for the US Air Force, and in October of the same year they were already operating in Afghanistan.

        That is, only 13 years have passed since the moment of putting into service, and replacement already begs ...
    2. +1
      9 June 2020 15: 20
      Well ... Just now, the article was about hypersonic ... is it on it ??? Slow (by definition) and quite large and heavy Drone, how can it become invulnerable to modern air defense? Become invisible?
    3. -1
      9 June 2020 15: 20
      U.S. Air Force officially begins looking for a replacement drone MQ-9 Reaper
      What can I say - well done. And here - what is being exchanged for? Oh yes - the Constitution! This is more important! We simply cannot breathe without it! We don’t need bread ...- come on! All central TV channels are crammed with this "product". sad
      1. -3
        9 June 2020 17: 20
        What about polymers?
    4. +1
      9 June 2020 15: 21
      300 pieces have been done, and here we have chewed the production of one snot for a year. The word doesn’t differ.
    5. +9
      9 June 2020 15: 23
      "According to US Air Force Assistant Secretary for Procurement, Technology and Logistics Will Roper, the US Air Force is considering replacing the MQ-9 Reaper with cheaper reusable drones that are" not a pity to lose. "This is the main criterion. There are almost no Papuans, and the rest have more - less developed electronic warfare and air defense systems. Sending "rippers" and others like them against such opponents is like throwing gold bars.
    6. 0
      9 June 2020 15: 24
      Intelligence and combat UAV MQ-9 are in service with the Air Force and the CIA, as well as the Air Force of Italy, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, France, the United Kingdom and other countries.


      This is not the first time I have seen how they write that this unit is in service with Turkey, and now Kazakhstan .. is it worth it? vague doubts torment me, no, I'm pretty sure not)

      If I’m not mistaken, the Turks began to muddle their shock drones when the United States refused to supply their traitor rippers .. Such modern weapons are usually delivered by the states only to their closest (trusted) allies such as England, Norway and other Western countries. And in Turkey, the United States and the West generally try not to supply advanced weapons, usually sending them secondary obsolete trash through NATO’s partner line))
    7. +2
      9 June 2020 15: 30
      Just now I noticed this, but he is not small in size. Comparison of people standing nearby. I always thought they were an order of magnitude smaller
      1. +5
        9 June 2020 15: 47
        Quote: alert_timka
        Just now I noticed this, but he is not small in size. Comparison of people standing nearby. I always thought they were an order of magnitude smaller

        And the wingspan of a relatively slender "little body" is generally impressive - 20 meters, and a modification with a span of 26,8 meters.
      2. 5-9
        0
        9 June 2020 17: 22
        So this is the problem - the size and price .... but against quite Papuan Papuans the UAV is not a tenant ...
    8. +3
      9 June 2020 15: 56

      They know how to do this thing ..
      1. +1
        9 June 2020 16: 11
        Quote: 013Azer
        They know how to do this thing ..

        A frightening sight, but the level of management technology is just a disaster ....
      2. 0
        9 June 2020 19: 01
        They know how to do this thing ..

        This is an imitation of the presentation, as far as I remember ...
        1. 0
          16 June 2020 16: 09
          This is from the movie. There, the drones will fall into the hands of terrorists, and the Armageddian will begin for all ...
    9. +2
      9 June 2020 16: 29
      Quote: Pete Mitchell
      Quote: 013Azer
      They know how to do this thing ..

      A frightening sight, but the level of management technology is just a disaster ....

      Moreover, it recognizes a face, a function as in our smartphones. So it will blow up the brain only to pre-loaded faces there.) And we will put on a mask from the coronavirus and will not recognize us. wink
    10. +3
      9 June 2020 16: 47
      in the USA there is a change of generations of drones? ... and ours where? ...
      1. +3
        9 June 2020 18: 41
        And this is not the first shift, because the MQ-9 Reaper at one time replaced the MQ-1 Predator.
    11. -1
      9 June 2020 17: 23
      Quote: sevryuk
      What about polymers?

      Do you want to tell "about" them, or "about" them - what do you like best? wink
    12. -1
      10 June 2020 11: 56
      In the USA, they saw the Bayraktars fall, and apparently they finally understood ...

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