The highest-tech equipment used in probably the lowest-tech war…
From the USAF:
The MQ-9A Reaper demonstrated it’s unique precision strike capability as a hunter-killer attack platform by dropping its first precision-guided bomb Nov. 7.
“The beauty of the MQ-9 Reaper is that we’re able to synchronize and integrate unmanned aerial attack platforms over the skies of Afghanistan, allowing us to persistently and consistently track the enemy and ensure that we place the appropriate ordnance on target when required, and maintain that persistent presence after weapons release,” said Lt. Gen. Gary North, U.S. Central Command Air Forces commander.
The Reaper, the Air Force’s unmanned aerial attack vehicle, was operating over the Sangin region of Afghanistan on the hunt for enemy activity when the crew received a request for assistance from a joint terminal attack controller on the ground. Friendly forces were taking fire from enemy combatants. The JTAC provided targeting data to the pilot and sensor operator, who fly the aircraft remotely from Creech Air Force Base, Nev. The pilot released two GBU-12 500-pound laser-guided bombs, destroying the target and eliminating the enemy fighters.
The ability to carry bombs, in addition to AGM-114K Hellfire missiles, is just one of the features that set the Reaper apart from its smaller brother the MQ-1 Predator.
“The MQ-9 gives us an incredible addition to the arsenal,” General North said. “It’s larger, carries an increased payload and is able to fly longer, higher and faster. It’s an incredible addition to our attack capability in the CENTAF force lay-down.”
The Reaper has flown 49 combat sorties since it first began operating in Afghanistan Sept. 25. It completed its first combat strike Oct. 27, when it fired a Hellfire missile over Deh Rawod, Afghanistan, neutralizing enemy combatants.
I’m sorry, I just never tire of the idea that there’s a JTAC on the ground, under fire, who calls in for CAS to a pilot in a trailer in Nevada, who sends a command to a robot plane buzzing overhead, which drops the bomb perfectly, which kills the enemy, which saves the JTAC and his unit.
For everyone who says China is surpassing a complacent and distracted US, all I have to do is point them to this kind of operation conducted in the most austere, uncontrolled laboratory in the world and think to myself that the US is pretty far out ahead when it comes to this kind of net-centric technology and capability.
– Christian
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
Christian,
Great article but I take exception to your last comment.
China now has the ability to knock a satellite out of the sky. They knock a couple of ours out and those UAVs are useless, along with JDAM, and every other GPS device.
We cannot underestimate what China is doing and how fast they are progressing to catch up with us.
if anyone has ever read the book “forever peace” by james hamilton, i think we are quickly approaching a time where people fight wars from the US in other countries through robotics. while we do this with planes currently, the next step is actually “soldiers”. pick up the book, its a good read
I wonder if this was an RAF or Royal Navy mission. Sangin is in British controlled Helmand, the British forces have just taken delivery of some Reapers operated from Creech AFB by the RAF/RN Fleet Air Arm which make up for a serious lack of UK air support for the Army and Marines in helmand.
Whatever the nationality point taken about US technological superiority- long may it last. If china overtakes the west we won’t find the outcome that funny.
how long do you think before we start outsourcing our CAS call centers to India? that would make for one helluva black comedy
DC2-
The thing to remember about the China’s ASAT test. They hit a weather sat in polar orbit at ~550 miles altitude. The GPS satellites are at ~12,000 miles altitude. It would take a much more complex and expensive effort to go after satellites that far up.
Now, there are other low eart orbit satellites that China could take out, but it is a threat that the US could respond to. After they got their sucker punch in, the US could go after their launch facilities.
NTV makes a good point about the reality of China’s ASAT capabilities. It should also be noted that some of the US’s most closely guarded secrets are those of stealth satellite technology.
The US has worked on ASAT tech since the early 60′s and learned long ago how easy it is to shoot them down and have taken measures to counter such a threat.
There are also additional satellites “asleep” in deep space in the event of one going down.
That last comment about China is an awesome non-sequitur.
The US fields an expensive, complex new system relying on a hugely elaborate comms set up in order to combat a few guerilla fighters with AKs and RPGs? Who do you think is winning here?
FTA: “The MQ-9A Reaper demonstrated it’s unique precision strike capability” – it’s “its”!
I agree with DC2. Loved the article, and I’m glad to see some areas where we are ahead and doing well. We need to maintain technological superiority, across the board.
The issue with China, in addition to their increasing technology, is their eventual ability to overwhelm our superior technology with superior numbers. They are on a modernizing and building spree that WILL become a threat in the not to distant future. I don’t have access to the full stats, but I’d be willing to bet that they will have more platforms in the air, ground and sea than we do, possibly in large numbers.
Even if we can maintain a kill ratio of 5 to 1 or 10 to 1, every platform we lose is an irreplaceable asset. And most of our platforms are getting old, used and abused in the current operations, with little coming ahead to replace them in numbers.
That concerns me.
I am also concerned at China’s increasing level of hacking ability, and what that could mean to such data intensive networks as this GPS/UAV/Global Strike capability. Yes, it is a HUGE tech hurdle to knock out a geosynchronous satellite, but I have a hunch that it *might* be easier for them to hack into the systems that control the satellites themselves, or even just FUBAR the communications or other *weaker* systems. There are some weak links out there, and all they need to do is be lucky (or good) once. We need to do it all the time.
Now for a bit of a rant… If we were so frakking technologically superior, then we should have ARMED frakking UAVs looking over every square mile of those hell holes and be dropping frakking ordinance on the insurgents BEFORE the JTAC was in a world of hurt. We *should* be stopping the flow of traffic and arms across the borders, to keep out the EFPs and other nastiness (plus the foreign fighters) by blowing the frakkers off the map BEFORE they are attacking our troops, convoys and the marketplaces.
So here we have one success. Score one for the good guys. :-) But we obviously have a lack of NUMBERS in the game, and as such, the enemy gets a lot of points on their own.
Strangle off the sources of (new) arms, fighters and materiel, and get on the frakking offensive. Ever heard of the rewind button? Play back the tape and find out where they came from, and give their homes a visit. Someone has to be supporting them. Give them NO rest, NO respite and no where to be safe. We have the tech, use it!!!
Plus, if we had more armed eyes in the sky, then the ground pounders would no doubt be able to do their jobs better, with less loss of their lives. It could mean that they could have more positive face time with the public, more nation building and less dodging IEDs.
And as crappy a place as Creech probably is, I’d be willing to bet that crews would rather be mobilized and sent there to do rotations than be mobilized and sent back to the Sandbox for another tour. We should increase the number of armed birds in the sky and mobilize more folks to crew them, and have them serve INCONUS. (higher morale, anyone?)
I know I’d jump at the chance to cross-rate and work on a platform like a UAV, especially if I could get mob’ed and serve close to home and yet have a real world impact on the war over there. Much more than having to go back to the Sandbox, that’s for sure. (Been mob’d twice since 2003, and I’m just praying that I finish my degree before getting called up again.)
It is a numbers game, and these platforms could become even more of a force multiplier, IF we had enough of them to provide some form of blanket coverage.
….and on the subject of the UAVs, I wonder if some Admirals are considering drastically increasing the coverage of UAVs over their CBGs. Some extra eyes in the sky could be looking for periscopes of certain SSKs and others hunting their battle groups. Coulda helped recently, methinks…..
While this conversation has nothing to do with the news story, I think all of the dismay regarding China’s military buildup is unwarranted. While we certainly want to maintain dominance or parity, what’s to fear?
The Chinese are not going to attack the United States, they have no reason to. There is no chance that they could hope to invade the US homeland. The cost of a military confrontation FAR outweighs anything they could ever hope to gain. And losing the US and all of her allies as trading partners makes it triply so.
So yes, maintain the strongest military we possibly can. But stop the hand-wringing over China. The age of major powers changing maps and borders through blitzkrieg style conquest are over.
Besides, why attack us when you can just buy Hillary?
It’s less the threat of a hot war that’s worrying and more the long term unanticipated consequences of the balance of power moving from West to east. For the last 300 years the world has been lead by powers that broadly respect and promote the rights of the individual, the rule of law, privacy, habeas corpus, freedom of expression etc. Those structural elements of our (western) society might not look so sturdy if the world was to be dominated by a nationalist one party state China.
When Britain lost its position of global dominance in the early/mid 20th century it was said (patronisingly) that we should try to be the Greece to America’s Rome and educate our new masters.
If in the C21st we can’t beat China economically let’s try to lead by example. In the end I think that means not taking shortcuts like Gitmo or authorising the use of torture etc even if that puts us in more danger.
John-
Yes, its pretty much a given that China wont Invade the US. In fact I doubt anyone here thinks thats the issue. The real long term issue with China is resources, as they continue to grow as an economy they will require access to more and more resources. Over time this will lead to confrontations, many of which will be closer to them than to us.
well, lovely story n all…….but Wembleys’ got it down, period.
EM2 is correct, they may not be able to get our satellites in orbit, but they can disrupt or comms through hacking. I believe numerous articles (some even covered here) have indicated that China is already doing some snooping on our networks.
Also, it is not an invasion by China on the US that I fear. It is an invasion of Taiwan by China that I fear. Along with the Middle East, China owns most of America’s debt. That alone should strike fear.
Given what is going on with their manufacturing issues (lead in toys and all), they may start feeling some economic pinching from us shortly. That is not necessarily a good thing because it gives them less motivation to play nice. And other than passenger jets and computers, they don’t buy much from us.
It would be smart on our part to at least prepare for some sort of confrontation with these guys, which I am sure we have already done.
But I think we have digressed from the point of Christian’s article (sorry for that).
Speaking of out-sourcing CAS call centers .. what sort of transport is that in this photo’s background? An Antonov something or other?
Aircraft looks like an IL-76.
Also I think the army needs Reapers assigned to each brigade, like 12 or so. High loiter bomb carriers. Let the airforce waste cash on F-22′s and B-X’s and the Marines on EEEV’s, V-22′s and F-35′s.
Again a cheaper platform provides the airpower the army needs. T-28′s and B-26K’s, A-1′s, A-37′s, to A-10′s, etc. 40 years on and we have to relearn old lessons in Counter Insurgency warfare.
Joe-
Why should Reapers or any other large UAV be assigned to a brigade? With their range and speed it would be a waste of resources to limit their operations to a single brigade. Thats why large air assets are controlled by the combatant comanders. They can be used where they are most needed.
carpteros, speaking through a romantic mist, sez:
“For the last 300 years the world has been lead by powers that broadly respect and promote the rights of the individual, the rule of law, privacy, habeas corpus, freedom of expression etc. Those structural elements of our (western) society might not look so sturdy if the world was to be dominated by a nationalist one party state China.”
Native Americans, the all-but-exterminated inhabitants of what used to be German Southwest Africa, millions of Indians who starved to death in British-instigated famines, the Irish who did likewise, millions of Congolese, Europeans from the 1914-45 epoch, , and lots of others, all surely find your faith in benevolent Western governance ever so touching.
It’s a recurring problem with this site. If it stuck strictly to gadgetry, it wouldn’t be a problem. But if we’re going to talk about politics, diplomacy, strategy, we owe it to ourselves to try and see ourselves as others see us. Yeah, the West has a host of admirable traditions, ideals and institutions. It also has an incredibly bloody history, and we’re kidding ourselves if we overlook it. Others don’t.
Wembley is more lucid:
“The US fields an expensive, complex new system relying on a hugely elaborate comms set up in order to combat a few guerilla fighters with AKs and RPGs? Who do you think is winning here?”
Yep. But ya gotta remember, it’s Christian talking.
Wembley:
Umm, except the “guerillas with AKs and RPGs are D-E-A-D.” They know who’s winning…
sglover:
Lighten up bro. You take yourself WAY too seriously.
The plane in the background looks like an Antonov AN-142 to me. Too big to by an Illyushin (sp) IL-76.
I believe NATO rents them from a Russian company on an as needed basis.
right on that. Count the wheels looks like a solid line.
@Everybody blowing smoke about how much the US owes China, if China fights a war against the US then the US no longer needs to pay its debts to China. Economically China still needs the US more than the US needs China. Militarily speaking, the Chinese are light years behind the US in both spending and technological stakes. All the US needs to bear in mind is that technology doesn’t win wars by itself – men do that and the US government should do more for them.
Oh,Santa, please give me one for Christmas.
Oh, Santa, please give me one for Christmas.
EM2;
As the GPS sats are at 12,000 mi., that’s far (5X) short of geosynch. Orbital period ~12 hrs.
How does an armed Global Hawk compare to the Reaper? Why we’re on that (tangential) subject, why is it taking so long to develop the Global Hawk program.
Now if we can just put the JTAC in a trailer (maybe next to the MQ-9 Ops trailer) in Nevada, sending commands to a robot on the ground in Afghansitan… ;)
Given a Royal Navy Predator/Reaper operator just stopped a Reaper from bombing the shit out of a bunch of Spec Ops, I think we should keep the champagne on ice…
http://www.product-reviews.net/2007/11/19/predator-or-reaper-uav-royal-navy-officer-saves-lives/
CHINA VERY BIG HUH? THE WARLORD WAY WILL APPEAR SOON AND CHINA WILL BECOME TWO OR THREE COUNTRIES AND THEIR OWN CIVIL WAR WILL TAKE YEARS OF MASS KILLING TO START THEIR REAL COURSE. TAIWAN NOT SLEEPING AND LOGICAL IN MIND.
349507
DC2 Jennings and ALL,
The aircraft in the background appears to be an IL-76, not an AN-124 (Antonov does not have an aircraft with a 142 designation). The rear stabilizer at the top of the tail is a distinguishing characteristic of the IL-76.
sglover, the British did not “instigate” the Irish potato famine or the famines in India, you nitwit.
Mike,
My bad. I second guessed myself as soon as I sent that message.
And I did mean AN-124 in my incorrect assumption.
Thanks.
DC2
My dear and loyal friend Lugo, our very dear and loyal cousins across the pond did not “instigate” the famine as you so rightly state. But neither did Sir Charlie Trevelyan, whose responsibility it was to see to the relief effort, do much to bring that relief. His having called it a “judgment of God” for the “perverse and turbulent character” of the Irish fairly summates the English response.
It has been argued substantively and objectively that the Great Irish Famine should be more justly name the Great Irish Starvation. It is a non sequitor that there can be a famine when a country is a net exporter of food.
Cheers,
Chief B.
one important and unmentioned element of US/China military parity is awesomeness. by taking the already awesome PREDATOR, giving bombs and then renaming it the REAPER, you have, at least, quadrupled it’s awesomeness.
i cannot overstate how badass that is.
one important and unmentioned element of US/China military parity is awesomeness. by taking the already awesome PREDATOR, giving bombs and then renaming it the REAPER, you have, at least, quadrupled it’s awesomeness.
i cannot overstate how badass that is.
one important and unmentioned element of US/China military parity is awesomeness. by taking the already awesome PREDATOR, giving bombs and then renaming it the REAPER, you have, at least, quadrupled it’s awesomeness.
i cannot overstate how badass that is.
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