Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) has shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper, reported the state-backed outlet, Mehr Information Company. A variant of the superior US drone can be operated by India, which recently leased two MQ-9B Sea Guardians, and has a number of extra on order.
An MQ-9 Reaper, which was claimed to have been shot down, prices $50 million. For context, the F-35 Lightning, probably the most superior jet in US service, prices between $82.5 million to $109 million a bit. The Reaper’s $50 million sticker worth makes it dearer than even fighter jets. As an illustration, JF-17, utilized by Pakistan, prices round $25 million a bit. In the meantime, the HAL Tejas Mk-1A utilized by the Indian Air Drive, prices between $40-$45 million a bit.
In line with the Mehr Information Company report, the IRGC claimed it had shot down the MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, with the unmanned plane plunging into the depths of the Persian Gulf. In a press release reported by the outlet, the IRGC public relations workplace said that the “ever-watchful fighters of the IRGC’s fashionable air defence” hit the long-range US drone with missile hearth early on Monday. The US has but to substantiate or deny the identical.
This comes because the US launched assaults on Iranian targets for the primary time in over a month. The Monetary Instances reported on Monday that American forces had struck two Iranian rocket launchers on an island within the Strait of Hormuz. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones concentrating on US air bases in Jordan.
The MQ-9 Reaper, which the IRGC claimed to have despatched into the waters of the Persian Gulf, is a sophisticated US-made Unmanned Aerial Car (UAV) able to each long-range reconnaissance and surveillance operations, in addition to launching precision strikes. It, nonetheless, differs considerably from the MQ-9B Sea Guardian, two of which were recently leased by India for 30 months.
WHAT IS THE MQ-9 REAPER UAV?
Earlier than we look at how India’s Sea Guardians differ from the MQ-9 the IRGC claimed to have shot down on Monday, allow us to first have a fast take a look at the Reaper.
The MQ-9 Reaper is a medium altitude long-endurance UAV developed by the American aerospace producer, Basic Atomics, and costing as much as $50 million a bit. Operated primarily by the US Air Drive, the Reaper is used primarily for intelligence assortment and precision strike missions.
In line with Basic Atomics, the Reaper can stay airborne for about 27 hours, fly at speeds of as much as 240 knots (about 444 kilometres per hour), function at altitudes of as much as 50,000 toes, and has a 3,850 pound (1746 kilogram) payload capability that features 3,000 kilos (1361 kilograms) of exterior shops.
Its sensor and communications techniques permit it to conduct persistent surveillance, whereas its weapons functionality (AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, GBU-12 laser-guided bombs and GBU-38 JDAMs) permits it to transition from monitoring a goal to placing it.
Crucially although, the MQ-9 Reaper has no devoted functionality to defend itself in opposition to air-defence missiles or fighter plane. It’s designed to function nicely past the vary of enemy air defences, or in areas the place these defences have been sufficiently suppressed.
As such, within the ongoing US-Iran warfare, Reapers, that are closely used for surveillance across the Strait of Hormuz, have suffered heavy losses. In line with a report in The Washington Submit printed earlier in August, the US Army has misplaced no less than 45 MQ-9 drones since the war started in February, or about 25% of its whole Reaper fleet.
HOW DO INDIA’S SEA GUARDIANS DIFFER FROM THE MQ-9?
The MQ-9B Sea Guardians, two of which had been leased by India’s Ministry of Defence at a cost of Rs 1,943 crore earlier in August, differ considerably from the MQ-9 Reaper which was allegedly shot down by Iran on Monday.
In contrast to the Reaper, which is designed to trace and destroy targets on land and sea, the Sea Guardia is designed primarily for maritime reconnaissance. In line with Basic Atomics, the Sea Guardian has an extended wingspan than the Reaper (79-foot), increased take-off weight (5,670 kg) and an extended endurance (30 hours in comparison with the Reaper’s 27 hours).
The Sea Guardian is the maritime model of the MQ-9B household and carries a complement of sensors explicitly designed for watching over giant swathes of ocean in all climate circumstances. It is usually being developed to own the aptitude to detect and observe submarines, one thing that’s comparatively uncommon in the case of UAV’s.
A Sea Guardian can spend hours within the air watching a patch of sea, following a vessel or sustaining surveillance throughout distant approaches with no need to place an aircrew by means of the constraints of endurance. And in contrast to the Reaper, the Sea Guardian is designed to function from civilian airports.
Moreover, the Sea Guardians operated by India lack the offensive capabilities of the Reaper. On the finish of the day, the drone is designed to trace vessels, each on the floor and submerged, for lengthy durations of time, whereas staying out of the vary of enemy air defences.
The Indian Navy is at the moment working 4 Sea Guardians, which had been leased starting in 2020. In October 2024, New Delhi signed a deal to accumulate 31 MQ-9Bs, 15 Sea Guardians for the Navy and 16 Sky Guardians for the Military and Air Drive, for round Rs 32,000 crore, with the primary deliveries scheduled for early 2029.
Therefore, whereas the US MQ-9 Reaper allegedly shot down by Iran on Monday is designed for reconnaissance and exact strike missions, the MQ-9B Sea Guardians being acquired by India are used for long-range maritime surveillance.
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