Highway landing opens door to future MQ-9 Reaper capabilities
An MQ-9 Reaper prepares to take off from a highway during Exercise Agile Chariot. (Photo: US DoD)
The US has landed an MQ-9 Reaper UAV on a highway for the first time as part of Exercise Agile Chariot.
Several aircraft types conducted highway landings during the exercise, including the MQ-9 Reaper, an MC-130J Commando II, two A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and two MH-6 Little Birds.
The USAF said the landing of the MQ-9 Reaper on a highway opened the door for future capabilities.
It also marked the first landing of the aircraft type on a US road.
Lt Col David Payne, 2 Special Operations Squadron (2 SOS) commander, said: ‘The capabilities witnessed during Agile Chariot showcases how the MQ-9 can launch and recover from remote locations and extend its operational reach to protect American interests globally,’
Agile Chariot also saw the
Already have an account? Log in
Want to keep reading this article?
Read this Article
Get access to this article with a Free Basic Account
- Original curated content, daily across air, land and naval domains
- 1 free story per week
- Personalised news alerts
- Daily and weekly newsletters
Unlimited Access
Access to all our premium news as a Premium News 365 Member. Corporate subscriptions available.
- Original curated content, daily across air, land and naval domains
- 14-day free trial (cancel at any time)
- Unlimited access to all published premium news
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
![US Army moves forward on future tactical UAS without AeroVironment]()
US Army moves forward on future tactical UAS without AeroVironment
AeroVironment has been dropped from the hunt to provide the US Army with a Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS), leaving Griffon Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, Sierra Nevada and Textron Systems in the running.
-
![Navantia, SAES and Perseo to jointly develop line of uncrewed underwater vehicles]()
Navantia, SAES and Perseo to jointly develop line of uncrewed underwater vehicles
At FEINDEF in Madrid, Navantia, SAES and Perseo announced an intention to develop a line of uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs).
-
![British Army eyes new small armed UAS capability]()
British Army eyes new small armed UAS capability
The UK MoD has released a request for information on small armed UAS which could be used by the British Army.
-
![General Atomics delivers first new build extended range MQ-9A to US Marine Corps]()
General Atomics delivers first new build extended range MQ-9A to US Marine Corps
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) has delivered the first new build MQ-9 Extended Range (ER) to the US Marine Corps (USMC).
-
![SOF Week 2023: AeroVironment introduces VTOL kit for Puma AE UAS (video)]()
SOF Week 2023: AeroVironment introduces VTOL kit for Puma AE UAS (video)
AeroVironment has introduced the Puma VTOL kit, designed for plug-and-play integration into Puma 2 AE and Puma 3 AE small uncrewed aircraft systems.
