MQ 9 Reaper Drone : Crashed Into Black Sea
An MQ-9 Reaper drone belonging to the United States Air Force recently crashed into the Black Sea due to collision with a Russian Su-27 jet fighter.
- MQ 9 Reaper also known as Predator B, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations.
- It is developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI), primarily for the United States Air Force (USAF).
- It is remotely operated by a two-person team consisting of a pilot and an aircrew member who operates sensors and guides weapons.
- The US uses the MQ-9 Reaper for both surveillance and strikes.
- It is 11 metres long with a wingspan of over 22 metres.
- Reapers can be armed with air-to-ground Hellfire missiles as well as laser-guided bombs.
- It carry as many as 16 Hellfire missiles, equivalent to the payload capacity of an Apache helicopter.
- It can fly at an altitude of 50,000 ft (15 km) and can loiter over targets for for over 27 hours.
