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| An MQ-1 Predator, armed with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, piloted by Lt. Col. Scott Miller on a combat mission over southern Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force Photo / Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt), public domain. |
The The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator flew for the first time in 1994, and quickly entered service with the US Army directly the following year, 1995, During which all copies of this plane flew for more than 2 million hours 92% of which were spent on combat missions.
For more than two decades, the MQ-1 Predator represented a real change in the world of military aviation, and it was the beginning of the drone revolution, when it proved that it was capable, very simply, of doing complex things that required advanced aircraft piloted by trained pilots.
What the MQ-1 Predator has proven is that it is possible to inflict casualties on the enemy, while keeping the risk to personnel and equipment low.
But with the development of the technologies and capabilities of these aircraft, a different kind of danger has emerged, which is that they may fall into the hands of a party hostile or unfriendly to America (Iran, Russia, or even China), as these countries reverse engineer these aircraft and produce their own aircraft, taking advantage of them.
What are the tasks of the MQ-1 Predator?:
an armed, multi-mission, medium-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft.
The MQ-1 Predator was designed for the main purpose of carrying out armed reconnaissance (or force reconnaissance) missions.
This term means that the commander wants to reconnoiter a specific area controlled by the enemy or where he has forces before he advances his forces inside it in order to ensure that he does not have deadly ambushes inside.
In the past, these tasks were assigned to ground forces - special forces still carry out these types of operations.
_951205-N-3149J-006.jpg "Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flies on a simulated Navy aerial reconnaissance flight near the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) off the coast of southern California on Dec. 5, 1995, U.S Navy, public domain.") |
| Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flies on a simulated Navy aerial reconnaissance flight near the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) off the coast of southern California on Dec. 5, 1995, U.S Navy, public domain. |
This is understood to be “reconnaissance”...but armed reconnaissance is characterized by something additional, which is that whoever conducts the reconnaissance is equipped with weapons in order to be able to strike targets that may seem important to him or that it is necessary to destroy. He not only collects information, but also is influential.
For this reason, the Americans created the MQ-1 Predator.
Technical specifications of the MQ-1 Predator aircraft:
- length of 26 feet 8 inches (8 metres).
- wingspan of 41 feet 8 inches (12.5 metres).
- The plane has an engine that operates a rotating fan that gives it the ability to fly, and it is equipped with a unique system that cools the engine to prolong its stay in the air.
- Speed: 80 miles (130 km) per hour.
- endurance: 24 hours.
Satellite data link system:
It was the password that distinguished the MQ-1 Predator from its predecessors UAVs is a satellite-enabled data link system.
This system consists of three components (the aircraft, the satellite, and the ground station that controls the aircraft).
Thanks to this system, the images, videos and data that the MQ-1 Predator captures during its flight are transmitted almost simultaneously to the ground station through communication with the satellite, which is the link.
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| Captain Richard Koll, left, and Airman 1st Class Mike Eulo perform function checks after launching an MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle August 7, 2007 at Balad Air Base, Iraq, United States Air Force photo by Master Sergeant Steve Horton, public domain via wikimedia commons. |
This system is also used in civil aviation, as it allows continuous monitoring of aircraft movement in the air.
Thanks to this system also, the pilot of the MQ-1 Predator plane - who is called a pilot, by the way - can launch attacks and strikes from within its ground station because the satellite transmits his orders via signals to the plane, which is at a great distance from the ground station.
This system clearly demonstrated its capabilities in the battles and wars in which the Americans deployed the MQ-1 Predator, the most important of which are:
- NATO air operations over the Balkans.
- Invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the MQ-1 Predator will always be referred to as one of three aircraft that the Americans flew on operational missions in the skies over Afghanistan immediately after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
- The invasion of Iraq in 2003.
- Operations against ISIS in both Syria and Iraq.
But the war in Afghanistan itself was the source of many criticisms of the reputation of the MQ-1 Predator as an aircraft used in attacks that resulted in many civilian casualties
MQ-1 Predator Armament:
The weapon with which the MQ-1 Predator made its name was the Hellfire missile, which it used to destroy much of the Iraqi Army's equipment and before that in attacks against Al-Qaeda at the beginning of the invasion of Afghanistan.
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| An AGM-114 Hellfire missile hung on the rail of an US Air Force MQ-1L Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is inscribed with, "IN MEMORY OF THE HONORABLE RONALD REAGAN", TSGT Scott Reed, U.S. Air Force, public domain via wikimedia commons. |
By the way, the MQ-1 Predator is actually the first drone to fire Hellfire missiles in battle.
Today, it seems that the Americans have decided to retire the MQ-1 Predator, with the MQ-9 Reaper taking its place.
It is the nature of things, and as the Arabic proverb says: (No bird flies and rises except as it flies, it falls.)
