Robots taking over Combat Missions

February 20, 2007: The U.S. Air Force is moving rapidly to increase its force of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). In three years, it expects to have fifteen Predator squadrons. During that period it is buying 170 MQ-1 Predators, and up to 70 MQ-9 Reapers (or Predator B). While the Predator was a reconnaissance aircraft that could carry weapons (two Hellfire missiles, each weighing a hundred pounds), the Reaper was designed as a combat aircraft (it can carry two 500 pound smart bombs) that also does reconnaissance. The Reaper can carry GPS or laser guided bombs, as well as the 250 pound SDB, or Hellfire missiles. The Predators cost about $4.5 million each, while the Reaper goes for about $8.5 million. The Reaper can only stay in the air for up to 24 hours, versus 40 hours for the Predator. But experience has shown that few missions require even 24 hours endurance. For that reason, the air force decided not to give the Reaper an inflight refueling capability. The Reaper also carries sensors equal to those found in targeting pods like the Sniper XL or Litening, and flies at the same 20,000 foot altitude of most fighters using those pods. This makes the Reaper immune to most ground fire, and capable of seeing, and attacking, anything down there. All at one tenth of the price of a manned fighter aircraft. The air force expects to stop buying the Predator in four years, and switch over to the Reaper, and new designs still in development. Meanwhile, these UAVs use better and better software, that enables one pilot to control three or more aircraft. The sensor software alerts a human operator if anything of interest is spotted. Thus, while there are still people on the ground controlling these UAVs, more and more, the aircraft are operating by themselves.

The U.S. Navy, as well as Britain and Australia are buying Predators, and several other countries are considering. While there are many other UAVs of the same weight class (similar to a single engine prop driven civilian aircraft), the Predator has a combat record that no one else can match. This counts for a lot.