The Royal Air Force has announced the retirement of its MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Air System (RPAS) after nearly two decades of service.
The platform made its final operational flight following more than 173,000 flying hours on combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
Reaper first entered RAF service in October 2007 to provide urgent support to UK forces in Afghanistan. It later became central to coalition operations under Operation Shader, flying missions against Daesh in Iraq and Syria. Officials noted the fleet had accumulated the equivalent of almost 20 years of continuous flying, described as comparable to travelling to the moon and back more than 50 times.
The system will be replaced by the MQ-9B Protector, which is expected to bring a step-change in remotely piloted airpower.
Protector offers more than 40 hours of endurance, improved weapon systems, advanced sensors, and the ability to operate in UK airspace due to its certification. It will undertake missions ranging from surveillance and search and rescue to armed operations alongside NATO partners.
Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth, Chief of the Air Staff, said: “Over the last 18-years, the Reaper Remotely Piloted Air System has been the backbone of RAF operations in the Middle East. Its capabilities have been critical in supporting UK and Coalition forces, and it has made a significant contribution to the RAF’s ability to be Agile, Integrated and Ready to fly and fight. Amassing an astonishing number of operational flying hours, I am incredibly proud of all of the RAF personnel that have been involved in its highly skilled operation over so many years.”
The most recent operations were flown by XIII Squadron at RAF Waddington, with crews consisting of a pilot, sensor operator and mission intelligence coordinator controlling aircraft deployed in the Middle East.
Gp Capt Stu McAdam, Officer Commanding XIII Squadron, said: “It is with a heavy heart but immense pride to have flown our last mission and retire the MQ-9A Reaper from service following 18 years of continuous operations. With the introduction of the MQ-9B Protector, the future is certainly bright for XIII Squadron and the wider Remotely Piloted Air System enterprise.”
Replaced by ?
As in When ?
Apologies, good question
No probs, I was sort of thinking about “when” but realised It looked like I was just asking about “What”.
It was soon jumped on by someone new who mentioned my name as a sort of childish insult, but I realised it was just a child when I saw his Avatar “Boobies make me smile”.
Don’t get me wrong, I do like Boobies, I’m just too old now to get excited about them,
Well that’s not to say I can’t get excited,
Ermm, think I’ll stop now.
“Boobies” Boobie boobie boobies !!!
You are making the comments more entertaining and interesting than usual 😀
Hooray for boobies
Nbnbet Ulya, I’m getting some good material to “express” my Tit’s off.
Good to see you are keeping a breast of the comments, Is there anything you need to get off your chest ?
Really don’t encourage, he will start talking about blown air before you know it,
Apparently we have 10 so far of 16 ordered I don’t get why we need to get rid of the older ones if they can still fly use them I say
10? Interesting, I thought no more than 5.
What is your source, please?
RAF website says in June 4 we’re in the UK, with 6 in the US for evaluation. The final 6 will be delivered in 2025.
I expect most, if not all, the US based ones are now on UK bases since that would replace to 10 MQ9As we had left.
Thank you. If true, more than I thought.
U.K. serial research centre posted in the aviationist website
Thanks.
Have you actually read the article? Replaced by Protector. Go Google yourself instead of living up to your name.
Have you actually read my comment “As in when” ?
I put that because I thought some Pedantic Twit might turn up with a new name and start being an arse.
No need to be an A Hole.
It’s serves no purpose in civilised debate
MQ-9B Protector
Protector.
I don’t think more than a handful are at Waddington, and no idea if they’ve been cleared on Hellfire, Brimstone, or the Sigint fit.
So……another gap.
Yes, I have seen the figure of 10 Protector now in the RAF.
But of course that includes a number over in the USA going through testing, so not sure how many are now over here currently.
Apologies.. Just noticed ‘Submitten’ answer to you about Protector drones in the RAF. That’s the same details that l had read.
Don’t apologise, John. No need mate.
Thx mate.. Have a good weekend!
I’m not sure they will be directly replaced. Weren’t Reapers a capability deployed out of Cyprus and Afghanistan for the Middle East, while Protectors are to be based in the UK and Europe? I know they are both controlled out of Waddington, but doesn’t the shift of theatre make them a separate capability? I’ve read that Protectors will be doing maritime surveillance. Will they also do strikes in the Middle East or is that operation wound up?
Wrong.
Reaper was limited where it could be used, Protector can be used anywhere. Thats the difference.
First Reaper, now the Puma Sqn, No 33 Sqn, has also gone.
Had no helicopters anyway.
HMG going from strength to strength regards Defence.
This Is “Starmers Britain” we should all be deleriously happy with the current situation.
Nope this was decided by the Tories. But would you prefer the RAF use +/-20 year old tech? Next you will be harping on about using Spitfires! 🤣🤣🤣
Oh dear, here we go again.
Don’t tell him how long ago typhoon was developed or good forbid puma.. I suspect he would go catatonic if he found out the bulk of the US strategic bomber fleet started life in 1945…
It’s a pity we haven’t got a few Vulcan bombers to give to Ukraine – their
Not sure they would need them, the Vulcan bomber was designed to fly from the UK to Moscow and in theory back home again. Ukraine needs a mass of 500- 1000mile range weapons to dominate the deep battle and hit strategic targets in European Russia..
I suspect the UK could use them more. If we end up joining the US in a war with china then the distances involved are going to be huge, china is massive. Ability to do infrusture style bombing missions is going to be limited to protectors as typhoon /f35b don’t have the legs and refueling over enemy territory isn’t overly a good idea.
To be fair, I’d rather the RAF have an old Medium Helicopter as opposed to to no helicopter at all.
Umm you do realise that pretty much everything in squadron use is at least 20 year old tec
The typhoon development started in 1983 and the first prototype flew in 1994.. so that’s a load of cutting edge 1980s airframe design right there..
The medium lift rotor was developed and first build in the mid 1960s
The C17 globemaster was designed in the 1970s and started manufacturing in 1991
The new kid on the block the A400m started its development in the mid 1980s with most of the development done in the 1990s with building starting in 2007..
Even wedgetail is a 1990s design.
And the US are still building F15s and that airframe is pure 1960s tec….and let’s not look at the backbone of its strategic bomber force it’s development started before my dad was born and he was a married man when man first walked on the moon..
So those drones had a shed load of life in them.
I always find interesting the fact that Lancasters were only a few years before Vulcans were designed.
Nothing wrong with old designs if they have reached a certain pinnacle of Funtionality. Chinooks spring to mind and we were talking about the Browning .50 cal the other week.
Indeed let’s not forget the type 31s are being built from hulls designed in the 1990s
The Russians are still build new ships based on the original krivak class hull that was designed in 1950..
The modern world is obsessed with the new.. but we forget that a mature design is a mature design.. the trusty claw hammer is over 500 years old.
I would add that in my world of Bikes, we have seen an explosion of tech in the last ten years, things like Lean sensitive ABS, Traction control, wheelie control, braking asist, Electric throttle actuation and a shed load of other stuff, none of which you actually need but all of which we think we need.
I’d argue the F-15 airframe was a lot more 70s tech than 60s. Sure, the air superiority fighter program began in the mid 1960s, and some technical specs were set up in 1968-1969, but didn’t start really begin the design process until 1970 and were constantly updating the airframe design. They had an early prototype in 1972, but it wasn’t until 1976 that they were operational, and it incorporated a fair bit of advanced (for the time) structural materials and design elements. Even then, the airframe structure was modified a fair bit in the 80s to incorporate new materials (adding new technologies in titanium forming). (Similarly, some parts of F-35 program date back to 1980s, but that doesn’t make it a 1980s design…)
Puma was withdrawn before Labour’s SDSR, along with Watchkeeper ( yet still holding on ) the 2 LPDs, Northumberland, and the 2 Waves.
Getting the cuts out the way.
Northumberland was shot, the other ships in reserve or uncrewed. If the will was there, they could have committed to working towards crewing them.
No excuse for Puma. It had not long “replaced” the Bells in Cyprus and Brueni.
The Tories last haul of cuts included Hercules, most Hawk, Sentinel, Defender, Islander, Sentry, and the last GR4s a bit before.
BOTH utterly useless with zero commitment to Defence whatever, with jam promised years in advance, especially into other administrations so they need not be held to any promise.
Labour could reverse some of those decisions though.
“How low can we go”.
I quite agree mate.
As said many times, I’d not trust Labour any more than I can throw them.
Sadly they are running out of forgiveness.. unless this equipment plan pulls some serious near term stuff out the bag they will lose credibility in defence.. in the end if it’s not operational by 2030 its not acting as a deterrent to Russia or China..
Puma 2 was still refurbished just a decade ago. Cuts, cuts, cuts is all we’ve had for the last 15 years;
So lethality is increased by getting rid of a perfectly workable system. Another dumb, short-term win for the accountants.
Those drones had a crap load of flight hours. If you keep them you also need new control stations and trained controllers to go from 16 to 32 active drones. There simply might not be the need for that many since the war on terror wound down and Houthi tier threats have no problem shooting them down these days.
Better to take the upgrade and store the older ones as backups.
I’d hoped, if it was feasible, that Reaper would remain in the M East, as it cannot fly in UK airspace, and the Protectors would be more ENATO centric including Maritime.
I don’t get how we throw away kit other nations would happily use.
Failing that, yes, store.
Great let’s throw away a perfectly good strategic range platform.. 1900km range platforms are always useful for EEZ monitoring.. use them in the Falklands for south Atlantic EEZ monitoring.. cheap long range.. perfect for the job of keep a beady eye on that huge EEZ. After all it will not be long before China started playing harder in the Antarctic area.. and the British south Atlantic territory is exposed and has some very useful islands.
Another gap!
The more money that’s poured into defence the worse the outputs seem to get.
Always hilarious watching how the doomsters on here turn a good news story; Reaper being replaced by Protector, into an opportunity to moan and groan.
I’d imagine they’d find something to complain about if they won The National Lottery…
Nor surprised at the massive amount of flying time these hav rackd up. American made aviation and military kit is simply the best.
Hey Guys, great news, I won the Lottery, £30 on lotto, only been doing it since 1994 at £50 per week .
Still, I musn’t moan. 👀👀👀😁
The goal continues at a steady pace. Not a single new order for planes, ships, or tanks. Only cuts. That’s called treason. And it doesn’t matter if you’re Conservative or Labour, they agree on that.