Explained: MQ-9 Reaper downed over Black Sea and other instances of US drones being attacked

A US surveillance drone being downed over the Black Sea by a Russian fighter jet has escalated tensions between the two nations. While it remains unclear if the collision between the MQ-9 Reaper drone and the Russian Su-27 fighter jet was deliberate or accidental, both countries have blamed each other. Let’s take a closer look at the MQ-9 reaper and other instances of US drones being downed: The MQ-9 Reaper is a large unmanned Air Force aircraft that is remotely operated by a two-person team. It was developed with funding from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and had its first test-flight in 2001. According to Military.com, the ‘M’ refers to the department of defence designation for multi-role, ‘Q’ denotes the remote pilot and ‘9’ designates that it is the ninth system in such a series.

It was given the ‘Reaper’ moniker by the US Air Force and the Royal Air Force.

It is powered by the Honeywell TPE331-10 turboprop engine and integrated with Digital Electronic Engine Control (DEEC). It includes a ground control station and satellite equipment and has a 66-foot (20-meter) wingspan. The team includes a rated pilot who is responsible for flying the aircraft and an enlisted aircrew member who is charged with operating the sensors and guiding weapons. The Reaper, which first began operating in 2007, replaced the Air Force’s smaller Predator drones. In 2017, the Reaper became the US Air Force’s go-to aircraft after the Predator was phased out, according to The Guardian. The Economic Times quoted an Air Force statement as saying that the Reapers are swifter, have superior sensors, and can carry more weapons. Each Reaper costs about $32 million. According to The Guardian, it is mainly used to gather intelligence. [caption id=“attachment_12296722” align=“alignnone” width=“1778”] Graphic courtesy: Pranay Bhardwaj[/caption] However, it also has the “unique capability to perform” precision strikes against “high-value and time-sensitive targets”. According to Military.com, the Reaper can also conduct surveillance, and reconnaissance, offer close air support, combat search and rescue, buddy-laser, convoy/raid overwatch, route clearance, target development, and terminal air guidance. Used routinely during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars for surveillance and airstrikes, the Reaper can be either armed or unarmed. According to Military.com, the craft has a Multi-Spectral Targeting System that comprises an infrared sensor, colour/monochrome daylight TV camera, image-intensified TV camera, laser designator, and laser illuminator. The full-motion video from each of the imaging sensors can be viewed as separate video streams or fused, as per the website. It can carry up to eight laser-guided missiles, including Hellfire missiles and other sophisticated munitions, and can loiter over targets for about 24 hours. It is about 36 feet long, 12 feet high, and weighs about 4,900 pounds (11 meters long, 4 meters high, and 2,200 kilograms). According to the US Air Force website, it has a fuel capacity of 602 gallons and carries a payload of 1,701 kilograms. It can fly at an altitude of up to 50,000 feet (15 kilometers) and has a range of about 1,400 nautical miles (2,500 kilometers). Some models can remain airborne for up to 36 hours, according to The Economic Times. It can reach a maximum of 275 mph.

However, its lack of defences leave it vulnerable.

As per Military.com, the MQ-9 Reaper can be taken apart and loaded into a single container. The craft can be transferred in a C-130 Hercules or larger craft. The craft is used by the US Air Force, US Department of Homeland Security, NASA, the Royal Air Force, the Italian Air Force, the French Air Force and the Spanish Air Force. The US is the largest purchaser of the Reaper. Since 2007, it has bought 366 craft at an average price of $28 million, according to The Guardian. Other instances of US drones being downed From Libya to Afghanistan, US drones have been downed by enemy combatants before. In November 2019, an unarmed American drone was reported lost near Libya’s capital Tripoli.

US Africa Command at the time said the drone was shot down by Russian air defences.

US Army General Stephen Townsend told Reuters he believed the operators of the air defences at the time “didn’t know it was a US remotely piloted aircraft when they fired on it.” “But they certainly know who it belongs to now and they are refusing to return it. They say they don’t know where it is but I am not buying it.” In August 2019, another MQ-9 drone was shot down in Yemen’s Dhamar governate, southeast of the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa. One of the officials said that it appeared that the armed military drone, made by California-based General Atomics, had been shot down by a surface-to-air missile operated by the Iran-aligned Houthi group. “It appears to have been fired by the Houthis and enabled by Iran,” the official said, without providing details or specific evidence. In June 2019, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a US spy drone in the Strait of Hormuz with a surface-to-air missile. According to CNN, Iran claimed the RQ-4A Global Hawk drone had been brought down over its own territory. Then foreign minister Javad Zarif claimed the UAV took off from the UAE in ‘stealth mode’ and ‘violated Iranian airspace.’ The US responded by claiming the drone was shot down in international airspace. Then president Donald Trump announced retaliatory military strikes on Iran but pulled back at the last minute. Also in June 2019, the US military said that Houthi rebels in Yemen had shot down an MQ-9 with assistance from Iran. Lt Co. Earl Brown, a spokesman for the US Central Command, said the altitude at which the MQ-9 drone was shot down on 6 June marked “an improvement over previous Houthi capability.”

This fact that led the military to conclude the rebel group had help from Iran.

Brown also noted that on 13 June, Iran separately tried to shoot down yet another US drone over the Gulf of Oman in an effort to disrupt surveillance of Iran’s attack on Kokuka Courageous, one of two oil tankers attacked. In 2017, Taliban forces claimed to have brought down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Kunduz, a city in northern Afghanistan, as per Mirror UK. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .