Unmanned Reaper drops first bombs in combat

Unmanned Reaper drops first bombs in combat
Staff report
Posted : Friday Nov 9, 2007 12:02:02 EST

The MQ-9 Reaper dropped its first bombs in combat Wednesday.

One of the remote-controlled planes dropped a pair of 500-pound, laser-guided bombs on targets in Afghanistan, according to the Air Force.

Before Wednesday’s attack, the Reaper and its smaller brother, the MQ-1 Predator, had struck targets only with Hellfire missiles, a weapon best suited for hitting small targets. The ability to drop 500-pound bombs brings the Reaper to same lethal level as the A-10 Thunderbolt, F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-15E Strike Eagle.

Since Monday, F-15Es assigned to fly missions over Afghanistan have been grounded for all but emergency missions. The restrictions went in place after an F-15C Eagle broke apart in mid-flight over Missouri on Nov. 1, prompting an Air Force-wide ban on all but critical F-15 flights. To make up the difference, French and British planes have been providing close-air support, as well as the Reaper.

The Reaper was on the hunt over the Sangin region of Afghanistan when the crew controlling the plane from Creech Air Force Base, Nev., heard coalition troops were taking fire. Working with the ground force’s joint terminal air controller and the Reaper’s own cameras, the pilot and sensor operator spotted the enemy positions and released two GBU-12 bombs.

“The MQ-9 gives us an incredible addition to the arsenal,” the Air Force’s top commander in the region, Lt. Gen. Gary North, said in a statement. While the Predator can carry no more than two Hellfire missiles, the Reaper flies with up to 3,000 pounds of bombs and missiles.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/11/airforce_reaper_afghanistan_071109w/

I wonder if the article referenced in a previous post
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=259x6236
could have been an Operational Test and Evaluation of the Reaper performed in secret.

n/t