The Americans' lost drone was ultimately grounded and located near Mirosławiec. The General Command shared via its X platform profile that "the landing was executed according to procedures in a secured, uninhabited area." Moreover, the incident involving the drone is under investigation by the Military Police.
Notably, the MQ-9A Reaper drones' presence around Mirosławiec is not unusual. This area hosts the 12th Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Base. Reapers owned by Poland and those operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) expeditionary group are both stationed here.
The MQ-9A Reaper, also identified as Predator B, marks a significant advancement from the earlier MQ-1 Predator drones utilized by the United States Air Force (USAF). Dubbed "Reapers," these drones are a pinnacle of technology for reconnaissance missions and terrorist attacks, with each unit costing about $56.6 million as of 2011.
Deployed across various world regions, from Africa through the Middle East to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, these drones often employ AGM-114 Hellfire missiles for attacking targets. Unfortunately, these attacks sometimes resulted in civilian casualties, a concern partially alleviated by introducing the R9X Hellfire Ninja, a special version of the missile.
The MQ-9A Reaper belongs to the HALE (High Altitude, Long Endurance) class, capable of operating at altitudes up to approximately 49,213 feet for over 27 hours. Weighing around 4,850 pounds and boasting a wingspan of about 66 feet, it's powered by a Honeywell TPE331-10GD engine. The fuel weighs approximately 3,900 pounds.
Moreover, the MQ-9A Reaper can carry extra equipment on its seven towers, weighing up to roughly 3,748 pounds. The potential payloads include high-resolution day-night and thermal cameras, radar, laser rangefinder and target designator, electronic warfare systems, signal boosters, and weaponry. The armament options include:
- Laser-guided bombs from the Paveway II family,
- Laser-guided bombs from the JDAM family,
- Anti-tank guided missiles AGM-114 Hellfire,
- Air-to-air missiles AIM-9X Sidewinder.
