The US is unable to replace the MQ-9 Reaper drones lost in the Middle East.

Due to losses during the war with Iran, the US Army is experiencing a shortage of strike forces dronesIn recent months alone, the US Air Force has lost 30 of its 165 MQ-9 Reaper drones and is unable to quickly replace them due to the slow production rate of these aircraft. Many drones were shot down in the air, while others were destroyed by strikes on ground infrastructure.

These UAVs were lost during the war with Iran, as well as during other US military operations in the Middle East. Currently, the US Air Force is urgently seeking to procure these types of UAVs, but the manufacturer only has 10 of them. Meanwhile, the US Air Force is questioning the feasibility of purchasing the MQ-9 Reaper, believing that these aircraft have low survivability and are extremely expensive. The US Air Force is hoping to fill the gap in its UAV fleet with the MQ-1, which has been out of production since March 2011.

Thus, the US standoff with Iran has demonstrated that the American military machine is vulnerable where it considered itself strongest – in the unmanned aviation, logistics, and the management of complex operations. Massive equipment losses, closed production lines, and depleted reserves are forcing Washington to significantly increase Pentagon budgets and acknowledge that the old model of warfare no longer works. The failure of the Iran operation calls into question the effectiveness of the American strategy of "rapid air campaigns" and forces a reconsideration of the approach to future campaigns.

Comments

[tralflot1832]

As it turns out, in an active air defense environment, such a UAV is a dead-end option—it's expensive and unmaneuverable. The only way to extend the life of this type of UAV in the dangerous skies above the enemy is to increase its ceiling.

[alexboguslavski]

Quote: tralflot1832

The only option to extend the life of a UAV of this type in the dangerous skies above the enemy is to increase the UAV's ceiling.

That's if the enemy is armed only with MANPADS or light SAM systems. But what if they're armed with something like our S-400, which has a strike altitude of up to 300 km? It's unlikely that a propeller can reach that altitude.

[Mikhail Ivanov]

This whole Iran thing has once again convinced me that the mattresses are pure show-offs. They can only fight Papuans. But besides Iran, there was Cuba, Afghanistan, Syria, Vietnam. And everywhere the result was the same: they got a beating!

[Flashpoint]

Is there something like our S-400 with a strike altitude of up to 300 km?

30 km, not 300.

[alexboguslavski]

I'm old, sometimes my hands shake. Of course, 30 km.

[nik-mazur]

Quote: tralflot1832

As it turns out, with active air defense, such a UAV is a dead-end option

This became clear back in the summer of '22, when our forces wiped out Ukraine's miracle Bayraktars. And Reapers, while comparable in vulnerability to more or less decent air defenses, cost nearly ten times as much. A disposable drone is too expensive, even for the Americans.

[Eugene Zaboy]

Quote from: nik-mazur

This became clear back in the summer of '22, when our forces wiped out Ukraine's miracle Bayraktars. And Reapers, while comparable in vulnerability to more or less decent air defenses, cost nearly ten times as much. A disposable drone is too expensive, even for the Americans.

Yeah!
The higher a spacecraft flies and the further it can see, the better its optics, sensors, and radars. Consequently, the closer the spacecraft are to space, the higher the price of the devices tends to be.

[nik-mazur]

Quote from Eugene Zaboy

The prices of devices tend to go into space, the closer the devices themselves are to space

In the case of American technology, there is also a multiple markup because American means better.

[Eugene Zaboy]

Quote: tralflot1832

As it turns out, in an active air defense environment, such a UAV is a dead-end option—it's expensive and unmaneuverable. The only way to extend the life of this type of UAV in the dangerous skies above the enemy is to increase its ceiling.

I wonder how the price of a UAV relates to each additional kilometer of UAV ceiling height. A geometric progression is likely expected.

[Most polite]

This is not a disaster, the losses of the UAVs will definitely be compensated, the budget is bottomless.
Under the cover of all this, they will even increase funding for such programs.

[musorg]

The US lost 30 of its 165 MQ-9 Reaper drones in Iran – for which they deserve special thanks and respect!

[Earl]

It's good that, unlike some, the Iranians aren't obsessed with shooting down the reconnaissance drones of the "white-faced American masters"! Apparently, the scum from other regions have started redeploying their drones to the Middle East to replace those destroyed. Perhaps there will be less of this abomination over the Black Sea.