The MQ 9 Reaper drone can fly up to 50,000 feet 15,200 m above the earth
CHAPTER 1 A Direct Hit In 2017 an MQ 9 Reaper drone took off from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada It was on a test mission A pilot and a sensor operator sat in a ground control station GCS The pilot controlled the drone's speed and direction
The sensor operator controlled the drone's cameras The cameras recorded what was around and below the drone The pilot and sensor operator watched the live video on screens They were searching for the target drone The team found the other drone The sensor operator fired a missile from the Reaper A direct hit The target drone exploded This was the first time a flying drone had shot down another drone in midair Control from Afar A drone sometimes flies near a GCS But officers can also fly a drone from thousands of miles away US Air Force pilots at a GCS in Syracuse New York often fly drones in the Middle East
It takes a team of people to maintain and repair an MQ 9 Reaper drone What Are Drones The Reaper is a military drone Drones are special aircraft or ships There are no pilots on board People control drones from the ground Drones that fly are also called unmanned aerial vehicles UAVs
