Last week, the United States Air Force announced that the MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft conducted its first dirt landing. It occurred at the Nine Mile Training Center, a remote dirt strip in West Texas, south of Fort Stockton. The facility is one of the largest private armed forces training centers in the country, and the expansive terrain is employed to provide privacy from prying eyes.
Though the operation was conducted in secret, the Air Force Special Operations Command was quick to announce the mission’s success. Members from the 2nd Special Operations Squadron, 727th Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, and 311th Special Operations Intelligence Squadron teamed up with Airmen from the 26th Special Tactics Squadron out of Cannon Air Force Base (AFB), New Mexico, and successfully landed the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on the dirt landing zone.
Increasing the MQ-9’s Capabilities
Though this recent test may not seem all that big a deal, historically, the MQ-9 has only taken off and landed via line-of-sight of antennas, with aircrew members manually flying the aircraft. This recent test has confirmed how the MQ-9 can literally takeoff and land from anywhere in the world.
“This is a significant achievement for Air Force Reserve Command, AFSOC, the MQ-9 community and the joint force as a whole,” explained Lt. Col. Brian Flanigan, 2nd SOS director of operations. “This team of aircrew, maintainers and special tactics Airmen have proven the Reaper can operate anywhere in the world and is no longer beholden to the ‘leash’ of perfectly paved runways or line-of-sight antennas traditionally used to takeoff and land the aircraft.”
Flanigan was also quick to point out how this new concept meets the priorities of “Ready Now” and “transforming for the future.” The MQ-9 continues to serve primarily in an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) role, while its secondary role is against dynamic execution targets. Its ability to work from remote airstrips anywhere in the world could further enhance its capabilities. This could make it uniquely qualified to conduct irregular warfare operations in support of combatant commander objectives.
“This capability will be critical in ‘tomorrow’s fight’ and nests perfectly with the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment concept that focuses on smaller footprints, distributed operations and increased survivability while generating combat power,” Flanigan said. “We are demonstrating what is possible when you leverage citizen air commandos and our diverse backgrounds to take an existing capability like [satellite launch and recovery] and apply it to the future fight.”
A Better Predator
Designed as a follow-up to the MQ-1 Predator, the Reaper can carry a great deal of ordnance, which allows it to fulfill the “hunter” component of a hunter-killer drone Reapers can carry double the amount of Hellfire missiles that the Predator could carry, while the MQ-9 can also carry up to 500 pounds of bombs. The MQ-9 can also employ up to eight laser-guided missiles. The Air-to-Ground Missile-114 Hellfire possesses highly accurate, low-collateral damage, anti-armor, and anti-personnel engagement capabilities.
Even as the U.S. Air Force seeks to develop more autonomous and capable drones, the MQ-9 has continued to be updated and enhanced. In addition, recent conflicts have shown how teams must work with, and recover the drones.
It was in March, that a Russian Sukhoi Su-27 (NATO reporting name “Flanker”) jet fighter struck a United States Air Force MQ-9 Reaper over the Black Sea. The collision damaged the propeller of the U.S. drone, which forced the operators to bring down the Reaper in international waters. The U.S. Air Force also labeled the aggressive actions by Russian aircrew “dangerous,” and warned that it could lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation.
Author Experience and Expertise: A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
