It’s an understatement to say that drones have fundamentally changed the way battles are fought. From the airliner-sized Global Hawk to the drones used in Ukraine, unmanned vehicles allow soldiers to stay (mostly) out of harm’s way. A drone allows soldiers to literally see the battlefield from above, allowing for more precise airstrikes, artillery bombardments, or simply letting soldiers see what’s over the next hill. It has become invaluable in 21st-century combat and is a key arm of any modern fighting force. In 2023, if your military doesn’t have drones, you’ll likely have the odds stacked against you.
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Aside from allowing soldiers to get a good look around, one of the most impressive uses of drones is in an offensive role. “Hunter-Killer” drones are unmanned vehicles that are used, as their name suggests, to hunt down and kill a target. In reality, though, it’s a bit more complex and varied than typing coordinates into a laptop like in “Call of Duty” might lead you to believe.
Equipped to find a target and neutralize it
It’s also worth noting that the term “hunter-killer” refers to the specific role of the drone. And the term has many different meanings depending on the branch of service. For example, the phrase has been used by the U.S. Air Force to describe the mission of aircraft like the F-105F Thunderchief “Wild Weasel” to “hunt” and “kill” surface-to-air missile installations during the Vietnam War.
A “hunter-killer” drone that could not only monitor a target but also destroy it was the goal of an Air Force program in 2004, as the previous RQ-1 Predator drone system was not initially equipped with weapons. The resulting aircraft was the MQ-9 Reaper. As its name helpfully suggests, it can be equipped with a variety of weapons, from laser-guided bombs to air-to-surface missiles, and even the R9X, a variant of the Hellfire missile that lacks an explosive warhead and is instead intended for precision strikes that hit the target (usually a high-value human target). The munition has also been referred to as the “knife missile.”.
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The MQ-9 Reaper system is manufactured by General Atomics and has been in service since 2007. According to the Air Force, the MQ-9 Reaper is actually an entire technology system and refers to four drones, their ground control station and any necessary satellite connections. The entire system can be disassembled and stored on a C-130 cargo plane. It is assembled like a LEGO, only it costs over $76.1 million and carries missiles.
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The aircraft itself isn’t very big, fast, or particularly agile. But its effectiveness comes from its high-altitude capabilities, around 50,000 feet, and the fact that it can stay in the air much longer than a human pilot, for missions of up to 24 hours. It’s powered by a 900-horsepower turboprop, has a wingspan of 66 feet, and a top speed of 240 knots (about 276 miles per hour). Its purpose is to stay in an area for as long as its fuel allows and either collect data or strike a target. Most of the time, it’s a combination of both.
Keeping soldiers out of harm's way
Human pilots of a drone perform mission tasks from inside a ground control station, and since it uses satellites for communication, the station can be located anywhere in the world. This essentially eliminates the possibility of soldiers being injured or killed while performing their duties. In the event that a drone is shot down or rendered inoperable, the Air Force can simply send another drone with the same pilot to the ground.
Hunter killer drones allow the military to fly deep into enemy territory and monitor battlefield developments or carry out a decisive attack on targets if necessary, all while remaining virtually invisible. This has been particularly useful in areas like Afghanistan, where Taliban, al-Qaeda and eventually ISIS fighters typically lacked the technology to neutralize a drone like the Reaper, or even detect it in the first place. Drone systems like the MQ-9 Reaper will not replace fighter jets, ground troops or naval fleets, but they are an asset for reconnaissance and executing necessary but dangerous strikes.
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source of information: slashgear.com
