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Officials: Reapers take to the war zone

Do fear the Reaper. The Air Force MQ-9 Reaper is flying combat missions over Afghanistan, the Air Force disclosed Thursday.

The Reaper is the bigger, meaner and younger brother of the MQ-1 Predator. Both are remote-controlled airplanes flown by aircrews in Afghanistan at Bagram Air Base and from Creech Air Force Base, Nev.

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Armed Forces Network Afghanistan reports on the Reaper

As of Thursday, the Reaper had flown a dozen missions since the first sortie Sept. 25.

“The Reaper is an incredible weapon in our quiver,” Lt. Gen. Gary North, the Air Force’s top commander for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, said of the planes debut.

The Reaper’s main advantages over the Predator are payload and speed.

The Predator is limited to carrying 500 pounds of bombs or missiles. The Reaper flies with up to 3,750 pounds of armament, including laser- and satellite-guided 500 bombs and Hellfire missiles.

And while the Predator is straining its engine to fly at more than 90 mph, the Reaper cruises at 230 mph. The faster speed translates into a quicker reaction time. It can fly about 3,700 miles without having to land for fuel.

Like the Predator, the Reaper has a reconnaissance package of cameras and a wide range of communications gear. The MQ-9 also has a ground-tracking radar and laser and infrared targeting designators.

The Reaper was fielded quickly. The first operational Reaper was delivered to the 42nd Attack Squadron at Creech in March. The squadron’s top priority was to have the planes flying combat missions by the end of the summer, a goal missed by just three days.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley, who approved calling the plane the Reaper, marveled at the transition remote-controlled planes have made since they were first armed less than a decade ago.

“We’ve taken these aircraft from performing mainly as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms to carrying out true hunter-killer missions,” Moseley said.

The combat use of Reaper comes a few weeks after the Air Force’s bid for more control in developing unmanned aircraft for the Defense Department was rejected.

While the Air Force views the Predator and Reaper as planes available to aid any unit that a ground commander wants, the Army wants to assign its Warrior UAV, which is slightly smaller than the Reaper, to specific units.