Air Force, industry leaders honor Predator milestone

Published Feb. 27, 2009
By Derek Kaufman
88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Officials gathered beneath a Predator on display at the historic National Museum of the United States Air Force here Feb. 24 to commemorate a significant milestone in the development of the MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft system.

The informal ceremony recognized a combat mission flown over Iraq on Feb. 18, when a Predator surpassed a cumulative 500,000 flight hours over the life of the program.

Airmen from the 15th Reconnaissance Squadron at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., part of the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing, flew the historic mission.

The Predator program started out in 1994 as an advanced concept technology demonstrator, but quickly established itself as a highly capable intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform, which was later modified to precisely deliver lethal ordnance with the Hellfire missile.

Today, using satellite datalink, Airmen from Creech Air Force Base fly daily combat air patrols over both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Originally a joint program led by the U.S. Navy, in 1996 the Air Force took over development. The Predator is managed by the 703rd Aeronautical Systems Group at Wright-Patterson.

Lt. Gen. Jack Hudson, the commander of the Aeronautical Systems Center, and Frank Pace, executive vice president of the aircraft systems group for General Atomics Aircraft Systems, were each on hand for the event to thank those who helped develop and support the weapon system. They highlighted the strength of the partnership between industry, the Air Force and joint warfighters in making possible incremental improvements to the Predator's capabilities - some accomplished in a matter of weeks.

Pace said it was the vision of former Air Force chief of staff, Gen. John Jumper, that was the driving force to develop a capability called "remote split ops" where Airmen could fly a Predator into battle in an overseas theater remotely via ground stations based in the U.S. He called the decision a "sea change for our UAVs and really how we fight the war."

Lt. Gen. Hudson said the Predator is helping U.S. warfighters take the fight to the enemy "everyday and in so many ways... "With the ability for 24 by 7 coverage over a defined area, it gives us just what we need," the general added.

Air Force officials said 87 percent of the 500,000 Predator hours flown to date have been in combat.

The Predator is a medium-altitude, long-endurance multirole aircraft that carries a multi-spectral targeting sensor ball in its nose. Controlled remotely by one pilot and one enlisted weapons system operator, its primary mission is armed reconnaissance and interdiction of critical, perishable targets. Its current armament, the Hellfire missile, has proven itself very lethal and accurate.

"It's not just the airplane though," Hudson added. "It's the ground stations, links, maintenance, logistics and everything else that goes into making this a successful program."

The general highlighted Predator as an acquisition success story for the taxpayer and warfighter. He thanked General Atomics, ASC program office personnel, partners from Air Combat Command and many others who support their program for their role in its remarkable mission achievements.

"This is a tremendously valuable weapons system and it has been enormously successful across the board," Hudson said. "Every successful weapon system is the result of a partnership between government and industry...so at the end of the day we have a successful partnership, 500,000 hours and tremendous combat capability."

Col. Christopher Coombs, who oversees both the Predator and Reaper programs as commander of the 703rd AESG, said warfighter demand for their "Killer-Scout" capabilities is unrelenting. Accelerated production combined with mission capable rates of over 90 percent now enables 31 continuous combat air patrol orbits in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, he said. Predators are even used by the U.S. Border Patrol helping to identify illegal activity along the nation's borders with Canada and Mexico. He called the future of Predator and other unmanned ISR systems to be very bright.

"The Predator has flown more hours in the last year than in the initial five years of the program," Coombs said, adding that 118 MQ-1 aircraft have been fielded and the current accelerated production schedule will deliver another 73 aircraft over the next several years.

Coombs said his group's near-term focus is to continue to improve reliability & maintainability, dwell-time on target, adding new sensors to include a signals intelligence capability, and to improve the weapons package carried aboard both Predator and Reaper.