In January 2020, Qassem Soleimani, who commanded the Quds Force, the most elite unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was bombed at Baghdad Airport, Iraq.
The operation, which was carried out under the direction of then-President Donald Trump, involved the so-called “silent assassin,” the US Air Force’s flagship drone (unmanned aerial vehicle) MQ-9 Reaper.
The US drone that crashed over the Black Sea near the Russian border on the 14th (local time) is of the same model. The US claims a collision with a Russian fighter jet was the cause of the crash.
The drone, which is considered a key strategic asset of the United States, is a model familiar to Korea, and it appeared on the Korean Peninsula earlier this month for joint South Korea-US exercises.
It is a model developed by General Atomics, an American military company, and is often referred to as the ‘Predator’. Remote control and autonomous flight are possible.
With a body length of 11m and a wingspan of 22m, the U.S. Air Force evaluates it as having excellent precision strike capabilities in addition to information collection.
In fact, at the time of Soleimani’s bombing, the MQ-9 Reaper showed its terrifying ability to accurately hit and completely destroy a vehicle that was moving away from the airport.
Equipped with a 712kW turboprop engine, it is evaluated to be larger and heavier than the previously used 86kW piston engine-type company’s MQ-1 Predator.
Compared to the previous model, the weapon loading scale has been improved by 15 times, and the maximum loading scale is known to be around 1700 kg. The maximum speed reaches 480 km/h.
It was nicknamed the ‘silent assassin’ for its low-noise flight and striking ability. It has a range of about 5900 km.
Since 2017, it has replaced the previous MQ-1 Predator model, which was active in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has risen to the position of the main drone of the US Air Force.
Although equipped with both reconnaissance and attack capabilities, the MQ-9 Reaper is known to perform only surveillance missions in the Black Sea region.
At one time, there was a report that the US Air Force was considering selling the model to Ukraine, but it did not materialize due to concerns such as the sensitivity of the applied technology.
The US alleges that the downed drone was performing routine operations and that Russia intervened in the flight in a violent and improper manner.
The Russian fighter deliberately flew forward, poured fuel several times, and hit the propeller, eventually leading to a crash.
But Russia claims the US drone crossed the border of the temporary airspace set up for the war in Ukraine and crashed into the water after losing altitude.
Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov, who was summoned to the State Department that day, pointed out that the downed drone “has a strike capability that can load up to 1,700 kg of explosives.”
With a remark referring to the power of the MQ-9 Reaper, he justified the launch of his fighter jets, saying, “How will the defense departments of other countries respond to such threats near the border?”
[워싱턴=뉴시스]
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.