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Subject: General Atomics MQ-1 Predator
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Atomics_MQ-1_Predator
The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator is an American remotely piloted aircraft (RPA)
built by General Atomics and used primarily by the United States Air Force
(USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Initially conceived in the early
1990s for aerial reconnaissance and forward observation roles, the Predator
carries cameras and other sensors but has been modified and upgraded to carry
and fire two AGM-114 Hellfire missiles or other munitions. The aircraft, in use
since 1995, has seen combat in war in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the NATO
intervention in Bosnia, Serbia, Iraq War, Yemen, Libyan civil war, the
intervention in Syria, and Somalia.
The USAF describes the Predator as a "Tier II" MALE UAS (medium-altitude,
long-endurance unmanned aircraft system). The UAS consists of four aircraft or
"air vehicles" with sensors, a ground control station (GCS), and a primary
satellite link communication suite. Powered by a Rotax engine and driven by a
propeller, the air vehicle can fly up to 400 nmi (460 mi; 740 km) to a target,
loiter overhead for 14 hours, then return to its base.
Following 2001, the RQ-1 Predator became the primary remotely piloted aircraft
used for offensive operations by the USAF and the CIA in Afghanistan and the
Pakistani tribal areas; it has also been deployed elsewhere. Because offensive
uses of the Predator are classified by the US, U.S. military officials have
reported an appreciation for the intelligence and reconnaissance-gathering
abilities of RPAs but declined to publicly discuss their offensive use.
Civilian applications have included border enforcement and scientific studies,
and to monitor wind direction and other characteristics of large forest fires
(such as the one that was used by the California Air National Guard in the
August 2013 Rim Fire).
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Pentagon began experimenting with
unmanned reconnaissance aircraft (drones) in the early 1980s. The CIA preferred
small, lightweight, unobtrusive drones, in contrast to the United States Air
Force (USAF). In the early 1990s, the CIA became interested in the "Amber", a
drone developed by Leading Systems, Inc. The company's owner, Abraham Karem, was
the former chief designer for the Israeli Air Force, and had immigrated to the
U.S. in the late 1970s. Karem's company had since gone bankrupt and been bought
up by a U.S. defense contractor, from whom the CIA secretly bought five drones
(now called the "GNAT"). Karem agreed to produce a quiet engine for the vehicle,
which had until then sounded like "a lawnmower in the sky". The new development
became known as the "Predator".
Role
Remote piloted aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicle
National origin
United States
Manufacturer
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
First flight
3 July 1994
Introduction
July 1995
Status
In service
Primary users
United States Air Force
Italian Air Force
Turkish Air Force
Royal Moroccan Air Force
Produced
Number built
360 (285 RQ-1, 75 MQ-1)
Program cost
US$2.38 billion (2011)
Unit cost
US$4.03 million (2010)
Developed from
General Atomics GNAT
Variants
General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle
Developed into
General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper
As of March 2009, the U.S. Air Force had 195 MQ-1 Predators and 28 MQ-9 Reapers
in operation. Predators and Reapers fired missiles 244 times in Iraq and
Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008. A report in March 2009 indicated that U.S. Air
Force had lost 70 Predators in air crashes during its operational history.
Fifty-five were lost to equipment failure, operator error, or weather. Four have
been shot down in Bosnia, Kosovo, or Iraq. Eleven more were lost to operational
accidents on combat missions. In 2012, the Predator, Reaper and Global Hawk were
described as "... the most accident-prone aircraft in the Air Force fleet."
On 3 March 2011, the U.S. Air Force took delivery of its last MQ-1 Predator in a
ceremony at General Atomics' flight operations facility. Since its first flight
in July 1994, the MQ-1 series has accumulated over 1,000,000 flight hours and
maintained a fleet fully mission capable rate over 90 percent.
On 22 October 2013, the U.S. Air Force's fleets of MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9
Reaper remotely piloted aircraft reached 2,000,000 flight hours. The RPA program
began in the mid-1990s, taking 16 years for them to reach 1 million flight
hours. The 2 million hour mark was reached just two and a half years after that.
Specifications
General characteristics
Crew: none on-board
Length: 27 ft (8.22 m)
Wingspan: 48.7 ft (14.8 m); MQ-1B Block 10/15: 55.25 ft (16.84 m))
Height: 6.9 ft (2.1 m)
Wing area: 123.3 sq ft (11.5 m2)
Aspect ratio: 19.0
Empty weight: 1,130 lb (512 kg)
Loaded weight: 2,250 lb (1,020 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 2,250 lb (1,020 kg)
(4.8 kW redundant/6.4hp)
Performance
Maximum speed: 135 mph (117 knots, 217 km/h)
Stall speed: 62 mph (54 knots, 100 km/h) dependent on aircraft weight
Range: 675 nmi (675 mi or 1,100 km)
Endurance: 24 hours
Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7,620 m)
Armament
Hellfire (MQ-1B)
Avionics
ASIP-1C
AN/AAS-52 Multi-Spectral Targeting System
AN/ZPQ-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (early airframes only)
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