MQ-9 Reaper: "Reaper" in the sky of Ukraine
We can say that it happened: the Ukrainian military begged for a batch of "Reapers" MQ-9 Reaper. This was announced with pomp, describing the prospects. Complete win, so tremble, Russians, "Reapers" are flying.
The Russian side, represented by another expert, General Popov, has already told how these Drones it will rain from heaven, and what no these "Reapers" are.
The truth, it seems to me, is somewhere in the middle.
Therefore, if you carefully study all the more or less calm materials on the MQ-9 Reaper, you can draw a very interesting conclusion: there is not one devil in the details, but a whole squad. And everything is not as simple as it seems.
That is why we will climb very calmly and from a height of about 20 thousand meters we will look at what the MQ-9 Reaper will really represent in the sky of Ukraine, and what it will be: good weapon or so-so.
The flight performance of the MQ-9 Reaper has been reviewed on our pages, but we will repeat it. It will not be worse.
We will consider the shock version, that is, the MQ-9A Reaper. Some "experts" do not bother digging in the sources, and therefore their "Reaper" with a load can rise to a height of up to 15 km. But in fact, this height is achievable exclusively for the Altair, an unarmed reconnaissance version of the MQ-9. The Reaper, especially with a full load of weapons, flies much lower. Up to 8 thousand meters, like Bayraktar, only faster.
Created "Reaper" based on the MQ-1 "Predator", however, worked on the "Predator" thoroughly.
Everything and everything has become more: a longer fuselage, a larger wing, a more powerful engine. Turboprop Honeywell TPE331-10 776 hp (the Predator had a 115 hp piston engine) increased both speed, altitude, and flight range.
The result was a design much larger than the Predator: 3,37 m longer, 6,9 m longer wingspan, take-off weight increased by 3 (!!) kg.
Given the power of the engine, 661 hp. allowed to increase the payload by 1400 kg. And this is without taking into account fuel, the stock of which amounted to 1800 kg. So "Altair" could fly up to 30 hours, "Reaper" with a full combat load - up to 14 hours.
The maximum speed of the "Reaper" is 480 km / h, cruising - 280-300 km / h.
This is not Bayraktar.
With weapons, too, everything is much more significant. The Predator could only carry two laser-guided missiles. The "Reaper" has six weapon hardpoints, from almost 700 kg on the internal nodes under the fuselage to 270 kg on the underwing and up to 90 kg on the external nodes.
Theoretically, it is calculated that 14 helicopter missiles of the Hellfire type, which have a very wide range of applications, can be hung on the "reaper". But a mixed set of four AGM-114 "Hellfire" and two GBU-227 or GBU-12 guided 38-kg bombs is better.
The Hellfire rocket is already a classic, it has been in service since 1985 and it has proven itself quite well.
Designed to destroy armored vehicles, boats, shelters, the missile, in principle, has one drawback: the small weight of the warhead. But even 8 kg of a tandem warhead is enough to become a serious problem for tank.
Given that there are two ways to use Hellfire in terms of targeting, autonomous and external, the use of these missiles can have an additional effect. If the missile is launched autonomously from a UAV, then it is required to illuminate the target with a laser throughout the flight, which is quite inconvenient. In the case of external target designation, the UAV only launches a missile, and guidance is carried out from the ground. This improves the survivability of a $30 million UAV.
Equally good results can be achieved with the GBU-12 "Paveway II" bombs. The bomb is laser-guided and designed to destroy fortified targets and other infrastructure.
True, for the AGM-114 "Hellfire" and GBU-12 "Paveway II" the requirements for weather conditions for effective use are valid. That is, the absence of rain, fog, low clouds, smoke, in general, everything that can make it difficult for the laser beam to pass.
But the GBU-38 JDAM adjustable bomb is a weapon that does not depend on the weather. The inertial satellite guidance system is responsible for targeting the bomb. But for this bomb, it is required to determine the coordinates of the target in advance.
The AN / AAS-52 optoelectronic system is responsible for recognizing and tracking targets, which includes visible and infrared television cameras with high-resolution telephoto lenses and a laser designator, which weapons systems are guided by.
The “Reaper” is oriented in space using the AN / APY-8 “Lynx II” radar with a synthetic aperture, designed for mapping the terrain and detecting moving and stationary targets in the absence of visual contact.
As passive protection systems, part of the Reapers was equipped with an AN / ALR-67 radar exposure warning system and ADM-160 MALD dummy traps.
The control equipment that controls the MQ-9A from the ground is compatible with the MQ-1B equipment. That is, personnel already trained for the Predator, with minimal retraining, can operate the Reaper.
Two people are engaged in this, the pilot and the operator of electronic systems. Almost like on an airplane.
Takeoff and landing is carried out by this “crew”, and the main flight time of the “Reaper” is controlled by an autopilot, which receives commands via a satellite communication channel from a control center located in the United States at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada.
The signal transmission speed reaches 1,5 seconds, but in this situation, the Reapers control center is outside the range of almost any enemy weapon. And the autonomy of the action of the "Reapers" away from home airfields is largely due to precisely such control methods.
And here we digress a little. Not that from the "Reaper", but take a closer look at the methods of control.
Here is the place for pilots-operators Block 50 GСS actually imitates the cockpit of a conventional aircraft, with the supply of all the necessary information to the pilot-operator. Thanks to a modern computer base, one person can control the Reaper. And the second crew member can devote all the time to managing weapons systems. In general, everything is like in a regular plane.
Naturally, the control station is equipped with the latest multi-channel communication system Multi-Level Secure / Integrated Communication System (MLS / ICS), which is maximally protected from external influences. The communication system makes it possible to transfer large amounts of information through closed channels both to the operational control center and share it with other subscribers.
Drone control from the United States, the ability to deliver Reapers by C-17A transport aircraft, and the equipment of service centers at almost any airfield make the MQ-9 Reaper a very serious weapon.
The technical services of the US Air Force are required to deploy a support complex, a primary control point and prepare the UAV itself for takeoff and operation within 8 hours. Quite a short time.
And here is the attention, the question: where in this system is there a place for Ukrainian "specialists"?
Let's be honest: just one MQ-9 UAV costs $30 million. And it also has a control station, a technical service complex, plus the Reaper is controlled from special American satellites.
Will a sane person give control of an apparatus that has access to the American satellite navigation system to anyone?
It's one thing to entrust a small disposable kamikaze drone like Switchblade 600, which weighs 23 kg and carries a Javelin warhead, and which costs about 100.
Or its younger brother, the "Switchblade" 300, which costs $6 and carries a grenade 000 kilometers away.
"Three hundredth" can generally be controlled by a schoolboy, but the "Reaper" is a more subtle thing. A small kamikaze drone can attack vehicles, including armored vehicles, artillery and MLRS, air defense systems, and so on. "Bayraktar" also showed its ability to influence various targets.
But if the tiny “Switchblade” 300 is almost impossible to detect and neutralize, then the “Bayraktars” for some reason regularly fall to the ground. It is not so important who is to blame, the crooked hands of UAV operators or the direct hands of air defense calculations, it is not so important.
And the "Reaper" ... A fallen drone of such a cost is palpable. And it would be nice to minimize the possibility of falling for at least one of the reasons.
Because Ukrainians will not be allowed to manage. Yes, and it makes sense to take them to the USA, to teach them ... It is much easier to bring your calculations, organize a communication channel to Nevada and calmly launch the Reapers even from near Lvov.
And what, a range of 1900 km will allow, starting in Ivano-Frankivsk, to fly even to the Crimea, even to Donetsk, even to the Crimean bridge. And a pair of such drones can cause damage by an order of magnitude more than the same Bayraktars, which cannot fly further than 150 km from the control point.
And of course, no Ukrainian military will even be around. Maximum - to protect the perimeter. "Reaper" is included in the system of American military space intelligence and it is doubtful that Ukrainians, who are not even members of NATO, will be allowed to control.
And what does it say in the end?
That the conflict in Ukraine is thus moving into a new phase. with outside interference. The Reapers that could be used against Russian forces in Ukraine would most likely be flown by US pilot-operators, trained and fully competent.
MQ-9s will be connected to the American orbital constellation of satellites, and based on the data they receive, they will be able to strike at previously reconnoitered targets and objects.
This is not a full-fledged participation in the war?
Of course, our “experts” have already told all over the air that large and clumsy “Reapers” will fall under the blows of Russian air defense systems more trenchantly than small “Bayraktars”.
Theoretically, "Thor" and "Buk" will easily detect and knock down the "Reaper" from the sky, this is indisputable and there is even nothing to prove here. It is a fact.
The question of the presence of "Tor" or "Buk" in a given area. Already today they are openly saying that air defense systems are not enough to close the entire sky over the eastern part of Ukraine.
But even those complexes that are available are not a fact that they will be able to have the proper impact on the "Reapers". After all, it is very easy to detect and localize any air defense system from satellites as soon as it begins to deploy. Accordingly, bypassing, or rather, flying around such a problem will not be difficult.
So the "Reaper" in the sky of Ukraine is a serious nuisance. Yes, Buks and Tors are excellent equipment against which an American drone has no chance, but if the Reapers are controlled by experienced American operators, and not hastily trained Ukrainian ones (as was the case with Bayraktars), then the result will be may be different.
Underestimating the enemy leads to unpleasant consequences. We already managed to see this in March 2022. Therefore, you should be prepared for the fact that you will have to face the American operators of the Reapers in the sky of Ukraine, which will automatically transfer the special operation to a slightly different phase.
But - it is quite possible, as well as the fact that the "Reaper" can show itself. Maybe not as effective as it was in countries where the American did not meet resistance, but nonetheless. If the US turns on all the possibilities, it will be a worthy adversary.
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