Article

2018-01-28 Afghanistan

The U.S. Is Deploying A Huge Number Of MQ-9 Reaper Drones To Afghanistan

[War News Update] The Warzone/The Drive: The USAF Expands MQ-9 Reaper Drone Force in Afghanistan to Its Largest Size Ever

The air war over Afghanistan is rapidly heating up and a huge deployment of Reapers drones is the latest major development.

The U.S. Air Force says its force of MQ-9 Reapers at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan is now the largest deployment of the type to a single base ever. The drones are part of a larger surge in the air war over the country, which could still include yet more unmanned aircraft in the near future as other services, such as the U.S. Navy, consider their own unmanned contributions.

The Air Force says there are now nearly three squadrons worth of Reapers at Kandahar, though it declined to give specific numbers, according to a report by Stars and Stripes on Jan. 26, 2018. The size and scope of American presence there had steadily shrunk since the NATO-led coalition officially ended combat operations in 2014. It has begun to grow again as the United States has reinvigorated its efforts against the Taliban, Al Qaeda, ISIS, and other militant groups in the country, deploying additional ground forces, including elements of the U.S. Army’s first ever dedicated advisory unit, the 1st Security Forces Assistance Brigade, or 1st SFAB.

Posted by newc 2018-01-28 03:09|| || Front Page|| [20 views ] Top

#1 Omar comin'!

Posted by Thor tse Tung8585 2018-01-28 06:05|| 2018-01-28 06:05|| Front Page Top

#2 Chaos is coming. Mattis is going to collect scalps.

Posted by Betty Hatfield5124 2018-01-28 07:58|| 2018-01-28 07:58|| Front Page Top

Air space in the vicinity of the red line may soon become somewhat crowded.

Posted by Besoeker 2018-01-28 08:03|| 2018-01-28 08:03|| Front Page Top

#4 It's almost as if Trump said next to nothing about military matters while we quietly re-armed ourselves, unlike Obozo who telegraphed 3/4 of our punches. I remember some talk a few years ago that we were running low on certain munitions. At least here, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

Posted by Raj 2018-01-28 08:46|| 2018-01-28 08:46|| Front Page Top

#5 Nice map, Besoeker.

Posted by trailing wife 2018-01-28 09:59|| 2018-01-28 09:59|| Front Page Top

#6 I'll be watching you
(Every breath you take, every move you make, every bond you break, every step you take)
I'll be watching you
(Every single day, every word you say, every game you play, every night you stay)
I'll be watching you
(Every move you make, every vow you break, every smile you fake, every claim you stake)
I'll be watching you …

Posted by Procopius2k 2018-01-28 10:15|| 2018-01-28 10:15|| Front Page Top

#7 No sense in letting perfectly good Reapers collect dust. This is the best news I've seen in a long time. More please.

Posted by Tennessee 2018-01-28 15:13|| 2018-01-28 15:13|| Front Page Top

#8 From the Special Forces Olympics to Droneapalooza 2018 Afghanistan has generated a lot of useful data.

Posted by Grunter 2018-01-28 15:19|| 2018-01-28 15:19|| Front Page Top

#9 Trying to figure it out here is a 2016 map of drone squadrons. The count of even MQ-9's varies greatly between squadrons.
Squadron sheet from 2016
Low looks to be 12 Reapers per squadron high is 24 per squadron. That gives a low of 36 Reapers and a high of 72 Reapers in Kandahar.

Posted by 3dc 2018-01-28 18:31|| 2018-01-28 18:31|| Front Page Top

#10 I'd rather unleash Reavers on them

Posted by Frank G 2018-01-28 19:09|| 2018-01-28 19:09|| Front Page Top

#11 They are Reavers; hence the need for the Reapers.

Posted by V. E. Grong6401 2018-01-28 21:27|| 2018-01-28 21:27|| Front Page Top