Fear the Reaper: operators look beyond the current iconic UAV

The proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the past 10 years has been impressive, as has the growth in the range of systems deployed and their capabilities.

Once largely the preserve of clandestine operations and artillery observation, UAV activity has evolved to include intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR), as well as precision strike capabilities.

Arguably no system is more synonymous with UAV operations than the MQ-1 Predator of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) and its sibling, the MQ-9 Reaper.

Predator and Reaper are the 'glamorous' face of UAVs; the surreptitious nature of the strike missions they have made against high-value targets in Afghanistan and Yemen, and more recently Pakistan, has been seized upon by the media, propagating the mystique surrounding the platform. Although publicity is often geared towards the use of Predator and Reaper in the prosecution of targets, their originally intended use in an ISTAR role is far more widespread.

In the UAV community Predator and Reaper are relatively mature platforms. Predator was developed from GA-ASI's Gnat 750 system in 1994 under a USD31.7 million advanced concept technology demonstration contract from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV. Both platforms - and their future derivatives - are slated to remain in service for many years to come, most notably with their biggest users, the US Air Force (USAF) and US Army. However, programmes to develop their replacements are already under way - albeit in varying degrees of maturity - and ultimately these will have an impact on roles Predator and Reaper already play.