![]() ![]() The US had not recovered the crashed drone, US Air Forces-Europe said in a statement, and neither had Russia, Brigadier General Ryder said. The Reaper, which began operating in 2007, replaced the Air Force's smaller Predator drones.īrigadier General Ryder would not say whether this particular drone was armed. It can fly at an altitude of up to 50,000 feet and has a range of about 2,500 kilometres.Įach Reaper costs about $US32 million ($47.8 million). It is about 11 meters long, 4 meters high, and weighs about 2,200 kilograms, with a 20-metre wingspan. It can carry up to eight laser-guided missiles, including Hellfire missiles and other sophisticated munitions, and can loiter over targets for about 24 hours. The team includes a rated pilot who is responsible for flying the aircraft and an enlisted aircrew member who is charged with operating the sensors and guiding weapons. The MQ-9 Reaper is a large unmanned Air Force aircraft that is remotely operated by a two-person team. It said that the Russian military scrambled fighters to intercept the US drone, but that "as a result of sharp manoeuvre, the US drone went into uncontrollable flight with a loss of altitude and collided with water surface". The ministry said the US drone was flying near the Russian border and intruded in an area that was declared off limits by Russian authorities. "The Russian fighters did not use their onboard weapons, did not come into contact with the UAV and returned safely to their home airfield," the defence ministry said. However, Russia's defence ministry said on Tuesday that its fighter jets did not come into contact with the US drone, claiming instead that the drone crashed due to "sharp manoeuvring". "In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash." Loading. ![]()
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