We hear reports about our drone fleet and it’s almost always bad news from Pakistan, with innocents mistaken for insurgents and mowed down with a Hellfire anti-armor missile. The culprit in these events is usually described as a Predator, which could one of two models in the MQ-1 drone family.
Reality is a bit more nuanced than what the mainstream media conveys. Drones range from tiny hand launched units to stealthy, stratosphere prowling giants poised to replace our aging U-2 spy planes.
Our policy regarding drone use in Pakistan obviously needs some attention, but we can hardly begin to have a credible opinion until we understand what equipment we have and the missions these machines perform.
The primary mission for drones, which the military describes as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAVs, is intelligence collection, surveillance, and reconissance, or ISR. The U.S. has about a dozen different models in operation, but information is scattered and some of it remains classified. Even so, these systems can be separated into three different types: small hand or catapult launched systems that travel with front line units, propeller driven machines that mix ISR and attack capabilities, and jet propelled aircraft that are taking over duties formerly given to the U-2 spy plane.
Among the small systems only the RQ-11 Raven seems to have been given a proper designation. Drones all have a Q in their name, which indicates that they’re unmanned, while the leading R indicates the vehicle is an ISR only system with no attack capabilities. This diminutive machine, with a five foot wingspan and weighing just 4.2 pounds, provides infantry units in direct contact with the enemy an immediately deployable “eye in the sky”. The advantage of using this system rather than probing dangerous situations by sending in scouts is immediately apparent.
All of the inventory counts are classified for the various small drones, but I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the little Raven has won the contest for orders and is in use in volume, while the others may have been small lot purchases for evaluation.
RQ-11 Raven
There are three types of drones that might be involved in attacks. The MQ-1B Predator, its larger sibling the MQ-1C Grey Eagle, and the much larger MQ-9 Reaper.
The MQ-1B Predator is a 2,300 pound aircraft with a 115 horsepower gasoline engine. The MQ-1C Grey Eagle is the same air frame, but with a 135 horsepower helicopter fuel piston engine and the ability to carry an additional half ton of payload into the air. The fuel change is important - Predators have been idled by a lack of gasoline, while any forward military air base will have plenty of helicopter fuel available. Size and performance wise these machines are similar to a Cessna 172 or 182.
MQ-1B Predator
MQ-1C Grey Eagle
The five ton, 950 horsepower MQ-9 Reaper is similar in size to the types of fighter planes used at the beginning of World War II. It’s heavier at takeoff, has a bit less horsepower, and much longer wings - all to be expected with a machine meant to loiter for long periods above a battlefield. The smaller Predator started out as an ISR only platform and it was later fitted with the Hellfire missile system, an easy conversion as the equipment to perform this task already existed for helicopters. The Reaper, on the other hand, was purpose built to haul a large amount of ordinance and remain on station for long periods of time.
MQ-9 Reaper
The RQ-4A and RQ-4B Global Hawk are high altitude, long endurance ISR platforms that replace some of the functions of the U-2 spy plane, in addition to bringing their own unique set of capabilities into play. Weighing thirteen to sixteen tons fully loaded, the older and smaller RQ-4A is good for 36 hours in the air, while the newer and heavier RQ-4B has traded away eight hours of air time for enhanced capabilities.
Information on the RQ-170 Sentinel is scant. This still classified system was first spotted in Afghanistan in 2007 and dubbed The Beast of Kandahar. The weight, wingspan, and operating altitude are estimated to be very similar to the Global Hawk, but the flying wing design is stealthy. We own the skies over Iraq and Afghanistan, so this machine was built to quietly intrude into the airspace of countries such as Iran or Pakistan.
The weapon systems in use for the RQ-9 Reaper include the AGM-114 Hellfire anti-armor missile, the GBU-12 Paveway II laser guided gravity bomb, the GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition, and testing is underway for the AIM-92 Stinger air to air missile. The photo below shows a Reaper with two bombs close to the center and two pairs of Hellfire missiles mounted further out.
Unlike the purpose built Q-9 Reaper the MQ-1 family initially received its weapon system as an afterthought. Our attack helicopters carry a 20mm Gatling gun for use on personnel and trucks, while the AGM-114 Hellfire, with a warhead packing 20 pounds of explosives, was used for armored vehicles. The missile and its controls were an easy integration job on our smaller attack capable drone.
I’m uncertain if the anti-personnel variant of the Hellfire was built for helicopter use or if the Predator drove the need, but the model in question is the AGM-114N. This weapon bears a metal augmented or thermobaric charge. It produces a blast, fragments, and it’s also incendiary. This weapon has been condemned by human rights groups and caused controversy when introduced to the British arsenal.
The GBU-44/B Viper Strike is an answer to that problem. This 42 pound precision glide bomb packs just one tenth of the explosives of the Hellfire. Information on this weapon is scanty. This video is mislabeled as an attack on insurgents, but given the tank towing the target vehicle which simply stops after the hit I assume this is a training exercise or demonstration of the weapon.
The latest advance in maintaining control of areas and protecting our troops without accidentally killing civilians is the GORGON STARE. As you can see in the video the drone’s camera system pretty much has to know what its looking for due to its narrow field of vision. This new system, mounted on the Reaper in a pair of pods in the same inboard position as the bombs, provided five daytime cameras and four night capable infrared units.
This system watches over large swaths of terrain, collecting slow motion video with twice a second image captures, which is processed by an additional group of soldiers that joins the Reaper’s normal operations team. It’s basically a battlefield wide security camera system. If an IED is detonated in an area under observation the video can be reviewed to determine where those placing the device came from as well as where they went after planting it.
Drones have a bad reputation due to the use of the overly destructive Hellfire missile in Pakistan. Looking at this from a policy perspective these automated, long endurance machines are an excellent investment, so long as they are used judiciously.
Our military is changing. The armored division advancing with squadrons of A-10 attack planes overhead is a dated view of conflict. The future is more likely to involve a Stryker Brigade protected by Reapers taking an area, then MRAP protected troops policing the area with the help of the GORGON STARE or some similar future modification to the smaller, more numerous Grey Eagle.
The rec list for a military systems diary? That's never happened before - I have wrote a few of these over the years.
A Kinder, Gentler Predator
The U.S. Navy's Expeditionary Strike Group
The U.S. Navy's Carrier Strike Group
U.S. Navy Submarines
Special Forces Needs Gunships
Somali Piracy of Maersk Alabama Places Littoral Combat Ships in Perspective
Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected, Totally Screwed <= If you can only read one, this is it - Marine Corps whistle blower Franz Gayl is getting screwed bigtime. <br>