The MQ-9 Reaper: Separating Fact From Fiction

An MQ-9 Reaper taxis at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Efren Lopez

Revolutionary…Or Routine? The MQ-9 Reaper: Separating Fact From Fiction -- CNN

The proclamation that the Reaper (and, by implication similar drones) is the future of warfare bound to yield a revolutionary transformation in combat doesn’t seem to stand up to a reality scrub. The evidence is out there for anyone willing to hunt it down and and compare, as they like to say at the Pentagon, apples to apples.

Bottom line: the Reaper is more costly to both buy and fly than the manned aircraft it is commonly matched against. The margins are not even close — the Reaper is approximately twice the price to acquire compared to a contemporary F-16 fighter-bomber, and up to six times the cost of an A-10 close-support aircraft. Reaper’s annual operating costs are roughly four times the cost to operate an F-16 or an A-10. (See Part 2)

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WNU Editor: Last of five parts (see one, two, three or four)