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A Look At US-owned ₦15 Billion MQ-9 Reaper Spy/Strike Drone Downed By Russian Jets (Photos)

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Isreal-Hamas War : ₦14Billion U.S MQ-9 Reaper Drone Shot Down By Iranian-backed Houthi Militants - autojosh

A look at the US-owned ₦15 billion MQ-9 Reaper spy/strike drone downed by two Russian Su-27 fighter jets.

A Look At US-owned ₦15 Billion MQ-9 Reaper Spy/Strike Drone Downed By Russian Jets - autojosh

US Air Force on Tuesday March 14th announced that its MQ-9 Reaper drone was taken out of the sky by ‘unsafe and unprofessional intercept’ by two Russian Su-27 fighter jets while flying over the Black Sea.

In a press release, it explained that two Russian Su-27 dumped fuel on the MQ-9 before one collided with its propeller, forcing the drone to plunged into the Black Sea near Russian-occupied Crimea and the Ukraine frontline.





A Look At US-owned ₦15 Billion MQ-9 Reaper Spy/Strike Drone Downed By Russian Jets - autojosh

Following the encounter, the U.S. Forces claimed it had to bring down the $32 million drone in international waters, sparking a race between Moscow and Washington to recover it.

In a statement, US Air Force Gen. James B. Hecker, the commander of US Air Forces Europe-Air Forces Africa, said :

“Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9.”

A Look At US-owned ₦15 Billion MQ-9 Reaper Spy/Strike Drone Downed By Russian Jets - autojosh

Let’s take a look at the United States’ MQ-9 Reaper drone downed by Russia :

1) The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is a multi-mission, medium-altitude, long-endurance” aircraft designed to attack time-sensitive targets with persistence and precision. It can also destroy or disable those targets.





2) The 4,900-pound drone, which became operational in 1 May 2007, has a range of 1,150 miles, ability to fly at altitudes of 50,000 feet and has a cruising speed of roughly 230 mph.

A Look At US-owned ₦15 Billion MQ-9 Reaper Spy/Strike Drone Downed By Russian Jets - autojosh

A Look At US-owned ₦15 Billion MQ-9 Reaper Spy/Strike Drone Downed By Russian Jets - autojosh

A Look At US-owned ₦15 Billion MQ-9 Reaper Spy/Strike Drone Downed By Russian Jets - autojosh

3) The near-silent drone is operated remotely by a pilot, a sensor operator and a Mission Intelligence Coordinator. It can also conduct surveillance, assist in search and rescue missions.

4) Sometimes called Predator B, the MQ-9 has an endurance of 30 hours when conducting ISR missions. It decreases to 23 hours if it is carrying a full weapons load.

A Look At US-owned ₦15 Billion MQ-9 Reaper Spy/Strike Drone Downed By Russian Jets - autojosh

A Look At US-owned ₦15 Billion MQ-9 Reaper Spy/Strike Drone Downed By Russian Jets - autojosh

5) As of September 2015, the Air Force had 93 MQ-9 Reaper drones in its arsenal. As of March 2023, each of these drones costs $32 million, or ₦14.7 billion in Naira while 195+ as being built of 2016.

6) The US MQ-9 Reaper drone downed in the Black Sea on Tuesday is the same type of aircraft used to kill Iranian top security and intelligence commander, Gen. Qassem Soleimani in January 2020.

A Look At US-owned ₦15 Billion MQ-9 Reaper Spy/Strike Drone Downed By Russian Jets - autojosh

A Look At US-owned ₦15 Billion MQ-9 Reaper Spy/Strike Drone Downed By Russian Jets - autojosh

A Look At US-owned ₦15 Billion MQ-9 Reaper Spy/Strike Drone Downed By Russian Jets - autojosh

7) The laser-guided missile that was fired by the Reaper during the mission in Iraq is AGM-114 Hellfire Missile. As of 2021, each of these air-to-ground missile cost US$150,000 (‎₦69 million).

8) MQ-9 drone fitted with another version of the AGM-114 Hellfire Missile, known as the AGM-114R9X, was also used to kill Al Qaeda’s then-number two leader, Abu Khayr Al Masri, as he drove in Syria in 2017. AGM-114R9X uses blades instead of explosives to takes out its targets, killing its target with minimal collateral damage.

9) Morocco is the only African country that boasts the ₦15 Billion General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).





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