Following the one destroyed in Kuwait, the Ministry of Defence has ordered two state-of-the-art drones: here are their specifications

In March, the Ali Al Salem base in Kuwait, which also hosted an Italian contingent, was attacked. An Iranian ‘shaed’ – that is, an unmanned combat aircraft carrying autonomous-guided munitions – struck a hangar, shattering a “Predator/Reaper” reconnaissance drone belonging to the Italian air force task force. That aircraft, as the Chief of the Defence Staff, Luciano Portolano, commented at the time, was ‘indispensable for carrying out operational activities and had remained deployed to ensure the continuity of operations’. Another of these high-tech drones had gone missing over Libya in 2019.

Now, seven months on, the Italian Air Force has ordered two new MQ-9A Block 5 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles manufactured by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. ‘The Italian Air Force – according to a statement from the company – has ordered two new MQ-9A Block 5 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. When the new aircraft are delivered at the end of 2027, they will expand the Italian Air Force’s fleet. The purchase forms part of a Foreign Military Sales agreement with the United States Air Force, which also includes ground control stations.”

The MQ-9A Block 5 Reaper (manufactured by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems) is one of the world’s most advanced ‘hunter-killer’ unmanned aerial vehicles for ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) and attack missions. A hunter-killer drone is a remotely piloted aerial system designed specifically to carry out both the search and tracking phase (hunter) and the attack and destruction phase (killer) of the target. Compared with previous versions, Block 5 introduces high-level avionics and operational standards.

The MQ-9A Block 5 has a flight endurance of up to 26 hours and can operate at altitudes of up to 45,000 feet (13,716 metres). It has a payload capacity of 4,600 pounds (2,087 kilograms), including 3,750 pounds (1,701 kilograms) of external loads. It has long-endurance, persistent surveillance capability thanks to full-motion video, synthetic aperture radar/moving target indicator/maritime radar, as well as automatic take-off and landing. The MQ-9A Block 5 is equipped with a fault-tolerant flight control system and a triple-redundant avionics architecture; in other words, it has three identical and independent electronic, computing or flight control systems operating simultaneously to perform the same function on board the aircraft.