GA-ASI MQ-9 Reaper

So? Reapers are a completely non-stealthy drone that costs a couple million dollars and has a design that is 20 years old or more.
 
TomcatViP said:
The video of the alleged missile launch posted shows a hit at a much lower altitude than where a Reaper is supposed to fly.
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Which would make it even more vulnerable.

Again, it's a Reaper, the things barely cost more than a Tomahawk. (Unit price appears to be for 4x craft plus ground stations) Who cares if we lost one?
 
Could be a Predator and not a Reaper. The wreckage would look roughly the same in small parts with no representation of scale.
 
chimeric oncogene said:
A Reaper is at least 30 million dollars.
A Tomahawk is 2 million.
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4x Reapers plus the ground control station is $56mil. Reapers are about $8mil each, ground station is ~$24mil.

And the new high end Tomahawk Block Vs are about $4mil.


Forest Green said:
At the end of the day, no pilots were killed, which are the most expensive thing.
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And no critical classified technology was lost, which is the other expensive thing.
 
Oh, wow, I didn't know the cost had come down that far. I mean, 8 million for a Reaper is a steal, especially in today's money!
They should really expand those ground stations or centralize operations to cut down costs further! Can you fly more Reapers per station?
That's a ridiculous marginal cost!
 
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chimeric oncogene said:
Oh, wow, I didn't know the cost had come down that far. I mean, 4 million for a Reaper is a steal, especially in today's money!
They should really expand those ground stations or centralize operations to cut down costs further! Can you fly more Reapers per station?
That's a ridiculous marginal cost!
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I think each control station is limited to flying one Reaper/Predator/Gray Eagle at a time, but they can be set up to trade between aircraft in a chain: one control station is for takeoff and landing, maybe a bit more distance away from the airfield; then they trade off with a second control station farther out that might not be the one controlling the drones over the battlefield; etc.
 
So some funny stuff happend today. The Hessen (german ship of the F-124 class) has shot 2 SM-2 Block IIIA against an MQ-9 which was there for an counter terror op and had its IFF turned off & operational command (presumably EUNAVFOR Aspides) was unaware of its presence. But it survived because both SM-2 failed as they Had a "technical Error".
 
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Sub-hunting MQ-9? Seems like a pretty good idea to me to supplement the P-8 and other ASW assets. Can loiter for a good while and if the theoretical scenario of a submarine launching off a SAM ever happens losing one of these is a lot better than losing a P-8 or MH-60 and its crew.
 
GTX said:
Photos from Singapore Air Show - note pods:

View attachment 721292

View attachment 721293
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Is that 4x sonobuoy pods?

The challenge would be packing a couple of torpedoes, the middle wing stations can only hold 750lbs and that's right at the edge of a Mk54+parachute pack, not counting the high-altitude glide pack from the P8.

Of course, the Reaper can more easily drop down to low level without burning absurd amounts of fuel since it's a turboprop.
 
Scott Kenny said:
Is that 4x sonobuoy pods?

The challenge would be packing a couple of torpedoes, the middle wing stations can only hold 750lbs and that's right at the edge of a Mk54+parachute pack, not counting the high-altitude glide pack from the P8.

Of course, the Reaper can more easily drop down to low level without burning absurd amounts of fuel since it's a turboprop.
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It's not meant to be a hunter-killer, more as a complement to manned platforms in the sensor deployment role. Yes, 4 pods, each of which can launch 10 A-size buoys or 20 G-size dwarf buoys, so potentially up to 80 total (the USN only uses A-size but other navies use the smaller ones).

It's intended mainly as a sensor adjunct to a manned platform carrying weapons. If you wanted to arm a drone this size, I think you'd need to look at mini-torpedoes rather than lightweights.

Heres an article fomr a couple of years ago about this:
www.ga.com

GA-ASI Completes Unmanned Aircraft Anti-Submarine Warfare Demonstration of Sonobuoy Dispensing and Remote Processing

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) recently completed development and test of the world’s first self-contained Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) capability for an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS).
www.ga.com
 
TomS said:
It's intended mainly as a sensor adjunct to a manned platform carrying weapons. If you wanted to arm a drone this size, I think you'd need to look at mini-torpedoes rather than lightweights.
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And honestly, I'm not convinced that modern lightweight torpedoes are capable of doing more than chasing a submarine. Starting to think that the USN needs to put 21" torpedoes on surface ships and aircraft again, to use as ASW shots.
 
www.ga-asi.com

GA-ASI Tests Sonobuoy Dispensing System with MQ-9B SeaGuardian

On Feb. 27, 2024, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), in cooperation with the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), conducted a series of tests on GA-ASI’s Sonobuoy Dispensing System (SDS) using the MQ-9B SeaGuardian® Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) on the U.S. Navy’s W-291 test...
www.ga-asi.com
 
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Forest Green said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1796873167224307713
View: https://x.com/UKikaski/status/1796873167224307713
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Pretty sure "shooting down another country's warplane when it is outside your territory" still counts as causus belli.

Though drones makes that a little harder of a sell.



Forest Green said:
www.twz.com

New Electronic Warfare Pod Turns Marine MQ-9 Reaper Into "A Black Hole"

The new electronic warfare and intelligence collection pod enables MQ-9 Reapers to be "mostly undetectable," according to the Marine Corps Commandant.
www.twz.com www.twz.com
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I still want a full defensive suite with MAWS and DIRCM...
 
Scott Kenny said:
Pretty sure "shooting down another country's warplane when it is outside your territory" still counts as causus belli.
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It does. They've already had their freebie/benefit of the doubt with the fuel dump fly-bys that downed a Reaper. The next one will cost them.
 
"“This is a capability I would like to have in service in 2028,” Air Commodore Alex Hicks, the RAF’s head of capability delivery for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft, told Aviation Week on the eve of Farnborough Airshow. The project is not yet funded and would be subject to the Strategic Defense Review, he noted."

Think they'd actually need to buy more than 16 then if that was the case...
 

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