RQ-1 / MQ-1 PredatorA
US Air Force MQ-1 armed with
AGM-114 HellfiremissilesRoleRemote piloted aircraft/
unmanned aerial vehicleNational originUnited StatesManufacturer
General Atomics Aeronautical SystemsFirst flight3 July 1994IntroductionJuly 1995Retired9 March 2018
[1]StatusRetiredPrimary users
United States Air Force (retired)
- Italian Air Force
- Turkish Air Force
- Royal Moroccan Air Force
Produced1995–presentNumber built360 (285 RQ-1, 75 MQ-1)
[2]Program costUS$2.38 billion (2011)
[3]Unit costUS$4.03 million (2010)
[4]Developed from
General Atomics GNATVariants
General Atomics MQ-1C Gray EagleDeveloped into
General Atomics MQ-9 ReaperThe
General Atomics MQ-1 Predator is an American
remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) built by
General Atomics that was used primarily by the
United States Air Force (USAF) and
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Initially conceived in the early 1990's for
aerial reconnaissance and forward observation roles, the Predator carries cameras and other sensors. It was modified and upgraded to carry and fire two
AGM-114 Hellfire missiles or other munitions. The aircraft entered service in 1995, and saw combat in the
war in Afghanistan,
Pakistan, the
NATO intervention in Bosnia,
Serbia, the
Iraq War,
Yemen, the
2011 Libyan civil war, the
2014 intervention in Syria, and
Somalia.
The USAF describes the Predator as a "Tier II" MALE UAS (medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system). The UAS consists of four aircraft or "air vehicles" with sensors, a
ground control station (GCS), and a primary satellite link communication suite.
[5] Powered by a
Rotax engine and driven by a propeller, the air vehicle can fly up to 400
nmi (460
mi; 740
km) to a target, loiter overhead for 14 hours, then return to its base.
Since after 2001, the RQ-1 Predator became the primary remotely piloted aircraft used for offensive operations by the USAF and the CIA in Afghanistan and the
Pakistani tribal areas; it has also been deployed elsewhere. Because offensive uses of the Predator are
classified by the U.S., U.S. military officials have reported an appreciation for the intelligence and reconnaissance-gathering abilities of RPAs but declined to publicly discuss their offensive use.
[6] The United States retired the Predator in 2018.
[1]
Civilian applications for drones have included border enforcement and scientific studies, and to monitor wind direction and other characteristics of large forest fires (such as the drone that was used by the
California Air National Guard in the August 2013
Rim Fire).
[7]