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AFRICOM calls out for new ISR UAVs

16th August 2024 - 17:05 GMT | by Wilder Alejandro Sanchez in Washington, DC

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AFRICOM has been looking for a replacement for its legacy Reaper MQ-9 drones. (Photo: US Air Force/Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt)

With the venerable MQ-9 Reaper drone being “legacy’ed out”, US Africa Command will require new long-range, long-endurance UAVs for ISR missions in a complex geopolitical environment.

US Africa Command (AFRICOM) officials have highlighted the need to obtain a replacement for its General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the near future.

Speaking at the Emerging Technologies for Defense conference in Washington, DC, earlier this month, AFRICOM officials said the new drones were needed to conduct long-range and long-endurance intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) across the command’s area of responsibilities, which includes all African countries except for Egypt.

During a media roundtable on 7 August, Shephard asked Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering at the US Department of Defense (DoD), about her office’s

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Wilder Alejandro Sanchez

Wilder Alejandro Sánchez is an analyst who covers defense & security, geopolitical, and trade issues …

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