Foreign Wars and conflicts

MQ-9 Reaper

The American drone fell on the Black Sea, a $ 30 million toy

11 meters long, it has a wingspan of 20.1 meters. Can be disassembled and transported worldwide in a single container

15/03/2023

Around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, an American MQ-9 Reaper drone that "was conducting routine operations in international airspace" fell into the Black Sea after a close encounter with a Russian Su-27 fighter.

The United States summoned Moscow's ambassador. "A dangerous and unprofessional act of the Russians," the Pentagon reacted. Russia does not want a "confrontation" with Washington, the diplomat said, explaining however that "American planes should not be near the Russian border."

The MQ-9 Reaper is a remotely piloted aircraft used primarily for surveillance but can also be armed for precision operations. The basic crew consists of two people: a qualified pilot to control the aircraft and command the mission and one enlisted to operate sensors and weapons.

The drone is equipped with an array of sensors and cameras for detailed video surveillance with an ability to stay on the target for 24 hours. And it can carry up to eight laser-guided air-to-surface missiles.

The MQ-9 Reaper has a wingspan of 20.1 meters, a length of eleven and a height of 3.8 meters. It weighs (empty) over 2,200 kilos. It can fly at an altitude of up to 15 kilometers and has a range of about 1,400 nautical miles (2,500 kilometers).

It can be disassembled and loaded into a single container to be taken from anywhere in the world. The entire system can be transported on large aircraft, such as the C-130 Hercules. It has a unit cost of about $30 million (varies by configuration).