General Atomics B maritime variant of its famous MQ-9 Reaper drone is set to receive a new pod system, allowing it to deploy smaller drones. The modular pods will allow the drone to be quickly equipped with a mission-related payload to improve the drone’s usefulness.
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According to Reuters, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has reportedly signed two deals with the United States to purchase 18 MQ-9 Reaper drones and 50 F-35 fighter jets. It is also reported that one of the deals was signed right before Biden officially took office, prompting him to look over the deal.
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India has received two U.S. Predator drones for its Navy in an emergency leasing plan as tensions continue to rise with neighboring China in the region of Ladakh. The addition of the two U.S.-made drones is continuing what looks to be a U.S. proxy war with China.
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Back in April of 2019, a U.S. Reaper drone went down over Nevada due to a loose washer short-circuiting the control equipment. The loose washer caused a string of random commands to be sent to the drone resulting in it crashing down to the ground.
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Last month, the U.S. Air Force began a new set of tests to see if the MQ-9 Reaper drone can safely fly with eight Hellfire missiles, doubling the total number carried by the drone. The first in a series of tests took place at the Creech Air Force Base in Nevada.
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The US National Guard’s MQ-9 Reaper drones have received an upgrade, giving them advanced AI capabilities to track wildfires in real time. The new AI-backed drones can map out where it thinks the fire will spread to, based on previous fires.
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Britain’s latest drone, the Protector RG Mk1, has hit a major milestone by completing its first flight before its 2021 delivery date. The drone, internally known as GA-ASI, will be delivered to the UK Ministry of Defense and provide intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance support from above.
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Australian Air Force pilots and contractors are being drafted by the UK‘s Royal Air Force to fly its armed reaper drones above Syria and Iraq due to a shortage of willing pilots. The shortage in pilots has been caused by the stress one undergoes when flying a killing machine.
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Two MQ-9 Reaper drones have reportedly fallen out of the sky after they collided with one another over Syria according to a defense official. The military drones are said to have collided yesterday with the burning drones seen tumbling toward the ground.
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Even though China is trying to make headways into military drone market and touting lower prices to convince potential buyers, Australia just announced that it will buy American drones, namely the Reaper. The 12 to 16 unmanned warships are to be stationed in Papua New Guinea in response to regional security threats, according to the Wall Street Journal.
On Monday the Pentagon confirmed that an American MQ-9 Reaper drone was shot out of the sky in Western Yemen, where a civil war between the Iran backed Houthi rebels and the Saudi Arabia-backed government forces, has been going on for almost three years. A Reuter’s photographer said that the drone came down around 11 am local time. It crashed in a busy area on the outskirts of the capital. No casualties have been reported. The drone wreckage was reportedly carted away in a Toyota truck.
