The following is an Air Force Press News Release:
9/14/2006 – WASHINGTON (AFPN) — The Air Force chief of staff announced "Reaper" has been chosen as the name for the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle.
The Air Force is the Department of Defense’s executive agent for designating and naming military aerospace vehicles.
In the case of the Reaper, Gen. T. Michael Moseley made the final decision after an extensive nomination and review process, coordinated with the other services.
"The name Reaper is…
one of the suggestions that came from our
Airmen in the field. It’s fitting as it captures the lethal nature of
this new weapon system," General Moseley said.
The MQ-9 Reaper
is the Air Force’s first hunter-killer UAV. It is larger and more
powerful than the MQ-1 Predator and is designed to go after
time-sensitive targets with persistence and precision, and destroy or
disable those targets with 500-pound bombs and Hellfire missiles.
"The
Reaper represents a significant evolution in UAV technology and
employment," General Moseley said. "We’ve moved from using UAVs
primarily in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance roles before
Operation Iraqi Freedom, to a true hunter-killer role with the Reaper."
General Moseley stressed the key advantage is not keeping
manned aircraft and pilots out of harm’s way, but the persistence UAVs
can inherently provide. The Reaper can stay airborne for up to 14 hours
fully loaded.
A 900-horsepower turbo-prop engine, compared to
the 119-horsepower Predator engine, powers the aircraft. It has a
64-foot wingspan and carries more than 15 times the ordnance of the
Predator, flying almost three times the Predator’s cruise speed.
The Air Force has seven MQ-9 Reapers in its inventory, with a full-rate production decision expected in 2009.
The Air Force is the global leader in UAV innovation, General Moseley said.
"Today,
the Air Force can launch a UAV from a remote field on the other side of
the globe, then pilot that aircraft from a base in the United States.
These systems and the Airmen who operate them offer unprecedented
flexibility to combatant commanders worldwide," he said.
