MQ-9 Reaper shot down over Yemen: Yemeni armed forces report another US loss

Another MQ-9 Reaper has been shot down over Sanaa Governorate. This was announced, according to the Yemeni news agency, by Brigadier General Yahya Saree, spokesman for the Yemeni armed forces. According to the Iranian news agency Tasnim, this would already be the 24th US Air Force medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drone of this type shot down; each costs around 27 to 30 million euros.

Whether 24 is correct remains open. At the beginning of March, independent US military outlets had reported twelve MQ-9s lost. By early April, however, the websites Defence Security Asia and Defence Blog were already reporting a total of 17 MQ-9 Reapers lost over Yemen.

If the figure of 24 shootdowns is accurate, Reaper losses would have cost the US around 600 to 700 million euros.

What the MQ-9 Reaper can do

The US Air Force designates the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper as a remotely piloted vehicle/aircraft (RPV/RPA). It is powered by a 950 shaft horsepower turboprop engine. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) stays airborne for more than 40 hours, reaching altitudes of around 12,000 metres and speeds of up to 390 km/h, and covers around 11,000 kilometres. Seven external hardpoints carry missiles and guided bombs totalling around 2,500 kilograms.

On board are a stabilised electro-optical/infrared sight system, a radar and a satellite antenna. With a wide range of mission equipment, the MQ-9 Reaper can be adapted to many different missions.

Known mission types include maritime surface search, anti-submarine warfare, tactical and strategic signals intelligence and airborne early warning. It also serves as an airborne relay station for communications and data links and carries out precision strikes with guided weapons using automatic target recognition.