How is it possible for the Air Force to be "concerned" about Reaper losses over Iran when that surely is the expected outcome?
The Air Force wants to replace the Reaper drone:
Following steep losses of the General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper in recent combat operations against Iran, Air Force officials are accelerating efforts to replace the venerable drone with a new unmanned aircraft at a price of $10 million each.
Seriously, the losses are from the "Well Duh" files.
The drones excelled in operations against insurgents who lacked air defenses. It cannot be a surprise that air defense can shoot down Reapers.
Further, drones are sent into areas we don't want to risk pilots. No doubt losses would be lower if we planned missions the same as crewed aircraft.
Finally, the answer isn't another expensive drone. Aim for semi-disposable, eh?
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NOTE: Photo from the article.
