Sky News & Twisted Sifter – 2011-07-06 23:55:56

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Article/201009116025039

Four Afghan Civilians Killed By RAF Drone
Sky News

Any incident involving civilian casualties is a matter of deep regret and we take every possible measure to avoid such incidents.
— Ministry of Defense Statement

LONDON (July 06, 2011) — Four Afghan civilians have been killed and two more wounded when an RAF drone targeting insurgent leaders fired on two trucks in Helmand Province.

An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) investigation later concluded the Reaper crews had acted in accordance with “extant procedures and UK Rules of Engagement”.

It is the first time civilians have died in an attack by a British Reaper plane and comes amid growing anxieties over the use of unmanned aircraft in conflict zones.

The group was struck on March 25 after forces tracking the enemy on the ground correctly identified members of the Taliban in two vehicles and signaled for the Reaper to attack.

Its pilots were thousands of miles away at an American air force base in Nevada when they were instructed to fire in the Now Zad district of north Helmand. But while killing the insurgent commander and an associate, they also struck Afghan civilians who were inside the vehicles.

A “significant” quantity of explosives stored in the trucks was also destroyed. Any incident involving civilian casualties is a matter of deep regret and we take every possible measure to avoid such incidents.

“Any incident involving civilian casualties is a matter of deep regret and we take every possible measure to avoid such incidents,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

“On 25 March, a UK Reaper, operating in support of ISAF forces, was tasked to engage and destroy two pick up trucks.

“The strike resulted in the deaths of two insurgents and the destruction of a significant quantity of explosives being carried on the trucks.

“Sadly, four Afghan civilians were also killed and a further two Afghan civilians were injured.

“There are strict procedures, frequently updated in light of experience, intended to both minimise the risk of casualties occurring and to investigate any incidents that do happen.

“In line with current ISAF policy on alleged civilian casualties, an ISAF investigation was conducted to establish if any lessons could be learnt from the incident or if errors in operational procedures could be identified; the report noted that the UK Reaper’s crews actions had been in accordance with extant procedures and UK Rules of Engagement.”

Comments

Posted by: fairman on July 6, 2011 5:47 PM
Lets get this straight, the story says that this was an RAF drone, but the Reaper is an American weapon of mass destruction produced there. It also says it was directed from an American base in Nevada but was that by the RAF or USAF? If so does this country have military stationed in the USA?

Also if as the media propaganda suggests our military is befriending the local people with one hand what is it doing killing them with another even if they claim a Taliban follower was among them. It would seem likely from the news coverage of this military occupation that Taliban and local inhabitants are indistinguishable in practically every part of the country.

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The World’s Deadliest Drone
Twisted Sifter

SPECIFICATIONS
• Crew: None
• Landing Type: runway
• Launch Type: runway
• Power Plant: Honeywell TP331-10 turboprop engine, 950 SHP (712 kW)
• Fuel Capacity: 4,000 lb (1800 kg)
• Wingspan: 66 ft (20 m)
• Height: 12.5 ft (3.6 m)
• Empty weight: 3,700 lb (2200 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 10,500 lb (4760 kg)
• Unit cost: $10.5 million
• Manufacturer: General Atomics, San Diego, California

PERFORMANCE
• Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15 km)
• Operational altitude: 25,000 ft (7.5 km)[59]
• Endurance: 14–28 hours (14 hours fully loaded)[60]
• Range: 3,200 nmi (5,926 km, 3,682 mi)
• Payload: 3,800 lb (1,700 kg)
• Internal: 800 lb (360 kg)
• External: 3,000 lb (1,400 kg)
• Maximum speed: 260 knots (482 km/h, 300 mph)
• Cruise speed: 150–170 knots (276–313 km/h, 172–195 mph)[61]

OVERVIEW
– The MQ-9 Reaper (originally the Predator B) is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) (also known as a Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV)) developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) for use by the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, Italian Air Force, and the Royal Air Force. The MQ-9 is the first hunter-killer UAV designed for long-endurance, high-altitude surveillance

– Although the MQ-9 can fly pre-programmed routes autonomously, the aircraft is always monitored or controlled by aircrew in the Ground Control Station and weapons employment is always commanded by the pilot. Hence the preference to refer to the MQ-9 as a Remotely Piloted Vehicle

– Operators can hunt for targets and observe terrain using a number of sensors, including a thermal camera. One estimate has the on-board camera able to read a license plate from two miles (3.2km) away

– An operator’s command takes 1.2 seconds to reach the drone via a satellite link

– An MQ-9 with two 1,000 pound (450 kilogram) external fuel tanks and a thousand pounds of munitions has an endurance of 42 hours. The Reaper has an endurance of 14 hours when fully loaded with munitions

– The MQ-9 carries a variety of weapons including the GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb, the AGM-114 Hellfire II air-to-ground missiles, the AIM-9 Sidewinder.[13] and recently, the GBU-38 JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition)

MILESTONES
– In October 2001, the U.S. Air Force signed a contract with GA to purchase an initial pair of Predator B-003s for evaluation, with follow-up orders for production machines. The first test MQ-9s were delivered to the Air Force in 2002

– On 18 May 2006, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a certificate of authorization that allows the MQ-1 and MQ-9 aircraft to fly in U.S. civilian airspace to search for survivors of disasters. Requests had been made in 2005 for the aircraft to be used in search and rescue operations following Hurricane Katrina but, because there was no FAA authorization in place at the time, the planes were not used

– In September 2007, the MQ-9 deployed into Iraq at Balad, the largest U.S. air base in Iraq. On 28 October 2007 the Air Force Times reported an MQ-9 had achieved its first “kill”, firing a Hellfire missile against “Afghanistan insurgents in the Deh Rawood region of the mountainous Oruzgan province

– In April 2008, British special forces were forced to destroy one of the two Reapers operating in Afghanistan to prevent sensitive material falling into the hands of the Taliban after it crash landed.

– As of 2009 the U.S. Air Force’s fleet stands at 195 Predators and 28 Reapers.

WEAPONS AND ARMAMENTS
• 7 Hardpoints
• Up to 1,500 lb (680 kg) on the two inboard weapons stations[64]
• Up to 750 lb (340 kg) on the two middle stations[64]
• Up to 150 lb (68 kg) on the outboard stations [64]
• Center station not used
• Up to 14 AGM-114 Hellfire air to ground missiles can be carried or four Hellfire missiles and two 500 lb (230 kg) GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs. The 500 lb (230 kg) GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) can also be carried. Testing is underway to support the operation of the AIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missile.

– Trading off some of the missiles, the MQ-9 Reaper can carry laser guided bombs, such as the GBU-12. The availability of high performance sensors and large capacity of precision guided weapons enable the new Reaper to operate as an efficient “Hunter-Killer” platform, seeking and engaging targets at high probability of success. It is equipped with an L-3 Communications Tactical Common Datalink (TCDL)

– Tests are underway to allow for the addition of the AIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missile. Air Force believes that the Predator B will give the service an improved “deadly persistence” capability, with the RPV flying over a combat area night and day waiting for a target to present itself

– In this role an armed RPV neatly complements piloted strike aircraft. A piloted strike aircraft can be used to drop larger quantities of ordnance on a target while a cheaper RPV can be kept in operation almost continuously, with ground controllers working in shifts, carrying a lighter ordnance load to destroy targets.

– One important thing to remember about the Reaper (and the Predator as well) is that it is a weapons system and not just an individual drone. Each Reaper system consists of four individual Reaper drones operated by four different flight teams The whole system costs about $54 million to build

– Each Reaper drone is operated remotely by a team of two: a pilot and a sensor operator. The pilot’s primary function is flying the plane, while the sensor operator monitors the performance of the many different sensor systems (like infrared and night-vision cameras) utilized by the Reaper

– The Reapers are deployed in groups of four. Each Reaper — which is similar in size to a small business jet — is controlled by its own two-airman team located at a ground control station

– The teams are actually able to switch control of the drone midflight. So a team at an airbase in Iraq may be responsible for takeoffs and landings from its base but then hand over control to a team in the United States.

QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS
• Will the absence of a pilot lead to more risk-taking, specifically in choosing which targets to attack?
• Will foreign soldiers lose respect for a military ally that doesn’t endanger its own pilots in a war zone?
• Will use of UAVs lead to further increases in the number of assassinations being carried out against terrorist suspects?

In addition to legal and moral issues with the Reaper, there are also technical issues of some concern. Reapers aren’t equipped to locate other airplanes, which leaves them susceptible to midair collisions.