GA-ASI MQ-9 Reaper

Scott Kenny said:
So what?

It's about like saying they managed to shoot down a target drone... Reapers don't have any defensive systems like chaff, flares, decoys, RWRs, MAWS, etc installed.
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Seems odd to me that they are not flying with the Self-Protection pod that GA demonstrated years ago.
 
It´s better they spend their missiles on Reapers and Predators than on airliners.
If the Reaper were too much protected, this would not work.
 
TomcatViP said:
It´s better they spend their missiles on Reapers and Predators than on airliners.
If the Reaper were too much protected, this would not work.
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Granted, I'm just getting annoyed by the propaganda claims of "we shot down a US plane!!!eleventyone!" Needs the DOD to drop the James May "Oh, no, how sad. Anyway..." meme in response. Every time.
 
TomcatViP said:
It´s better they spend their missiles on Reapers and Predators than on airliners.
If the Reaper were too much protected, this would not work.
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I just had a look on FR24 and the only airliners flying over Yemen right now are Yemenia flights from Dubai and Cairo. No other operator is crazy enough to route over Yemen; they're staying well offshore through the Gulf of Aden or in Saudi airspace.
 
Scott Kenny said:
So what?

It's about like saying they managed to shoot down a target drone... Reapers don't have any defensive systems like chaff, flares, decoys, RWRs, MAWS, etc installed.
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Well, it's one hell of a target drone. Some modern multirole fighters cost about as much.
Scott Kenny said:
Agreed, but we all know that the DoD makes some absolutely WTF-inspiring decisions.
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Iirc they're working to add a podded self-defense suit to them, but it's only in future.
 
TomS said:
I just had a look on FR24 and the only airliners flying over Yemen right now are Yemenia flights from Dubai and Cairo. No other operator is crazy enough to route over Yemen; they're staying well offshore through the Gulf of Aden or in Saudi airspace.
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Really? Was that the sense of my meaning? Is that what you can only see out of the Houthis actions?
C'mon, I know you know better.
 
TomS said:
I just had a look on FR24 and the only airliners flying over Yemen right now are Yemenia flights from Dubai and Cairo. No other operator is crazy enough to route over Yemen; they're staying well offshore through the Gulf of Aden or in Saudi airspace.
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Well they're targeting civilian vessels, so there's no reason they wouldn't target air traffic too.
 
TomcatViP said:
Really? Was that the sense of my meaning? Is that what you can only see out of the Houthis actions?
C'mon, I know you know better.
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I understood you to mean that if we don't give the Houthis drones to shoot at, they would shoot at airliners instead. My point is that there are no foreign airliners flying over Yemen for them to shoot at.
 
www.twz.com

MQ-9 Reapers Gathered In Florida, Simulated Fighting Over South China Sea

The recent Reaper Smoke competition included a scenario based on a simulated mission over Mischief Reef, a key flashpoint in the highly strategic region. The recent Reaper Smoke competition included a scenario based on a simulated mission over Mischief Reef, a key flashpoint in the highly...
www.twz.com www.twz.com
 
Scott Kenny said:
Yes, if you don't mind datalinking the radar down to a control center on the ship it's an improvement over the Merlins. Much longer loiter time, higher altitude so you get more warning time.
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Available onboard power will be miserable, though
 
MQ-9B AEW&C：

The Expanding Market for AEW&C Solutions

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and heightened tensions along NATO’s eastern flank, coupled with multi-domain operations in the Indo-Pacific Region, have placed considerable pressure on NATO members’ ageing fleets of manned Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft.
euro-sd.com euro-sd.com

The MQ-9B SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a potential candidate to conduct persistent wide-area surveillance/airborne early warning (AEW) from land and aircraft carriers, in the latter thanks to proof-of-concept demonstrations to be conducted starting from this autumn in the US. General Atomics has conducted concept development and engineering studies to see if the MQ-9B could conduct different demanding operations including AEW missions supported by a radar manufacturer. During the Combined Naval Event 2023 conference at Farnborough in the UK, General Atomics showed an MQ-9B-based AEW&C solution with IFF and BMC2 capabilities. This configuration of the MQ-9B platform was equipped with a dual-pod radar solution, with each underwing pod accommodating a radar antenna. The platform also featured a central conformal pod hosting the processing and cooling capabilities.
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