The MQ9 Reaper is the US Air Force's elite workhorse drone for intelligence collection and hunter-killer missions.

The MQ-9 Reaper is an offensive strike unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). It is capable of surveillance, strike and reconnaissance operations against high-value and mobile targets over both land and sea.

The Reaper is the first hunter-killer UAV designed for long-endurance, high-altitude surveillance and can operate armed for up to 40 hours. It can be remotely piloted, controlled by humans on the ground or operate autonomously.

It is one of the most numerous Air Force aircraft. Since 2021, the US Air Force has maintained a fleet of more than 300 MQ-9 Reapers with fully developed ground control, communication and spare-parts inventory. They operate out of 20 bases in 17 states.

In the future, the MQ-9 will have short takeoff and landing capabilities.

The MQ-9B Short Takeoff and Landing mission kit -- a wing and tail kit for the MQ-9B SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian remotely piloted aircraft systems -- will enable the platform to be used in a variety of new contexts, including expeditionary bases and the US Navy's aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships.

The kit enables a short-field takeoff without compromising the aircraft's ability to conduct complex, long-endurance operations.

Heavily armed

Larger and heavier than its predecessor, the MQ-1, the MQ-9 can carry more munitions and has increased speed and high-definition sensors, enhancing its strike and support capabilities.

The MQ-9's 900 shaft horsepower (671-kW) engine has more than eight times the thrust of the MQ-1 engine. The Reaper can carry payloads of up to 1,700kg -- much greater than its predecessor's.

The Reaper can loiter at altitudes of 15,240 meters, double the flight ceiling of its MQ-1 predecessor, for more than 27 hours at a time.

The MQ-9's payload capacity, when combined with the cover achieved by a high altitude, enables the UAV to engage in air-to­ air and air-to-ground combat.

It can carry as many as eight AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground tactical missiles, as well as the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile and AIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missile system.

The MQ-9 can also be equipped with several types of guided bombs, including the GBU-12 Paveway II and GBU-49 Enhanced Paveway II laser guided bombs, the GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and the GBU-54 Laser JDAM.

Through its significant loiter time as well as wide-range sensors, multi-mode communications suite and precision weapons, the MQ-9 is uniquely suited to conduct strike and reconnaissance operations.