2007 The
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and
the Pentagon began experimenting with unmanned
reconnaissance aircraft (drones) in the early 1980s. The CIA preferred small, lightweight, unobtrusive drones, in contrast to the
United States Air Force (USAF). In the early 1990s, the CIA became interested in the "
Amber", a drone developed by Leading Systems, Inc. The aircraft itself was a derivative of the
GA Gnat 750. During the ACTD phase, three systems were purchased from GA, comprising twelve aircraft and three ground control stations. Few if any of the losses were from enemy action, the worst problem apparently being foul weather, particularly icy conditions. Some critics within the Pentagon saw the high loss rate as a sign of poor operational procedures. In response to the losses caused by cold weather conditions, a few of the later USAF Predators were fitted with
de-icing systems, along with an uprated turbocharged engine and improved avionics. This improved "Block 1" version was referred to as the "RQ-1B", or the "MQ-1B" if it carried munitions; the corresponding
air vehicle designation was "RQ-1L" or "MQ-1L". The Predator system was initially designated the
RQ-1 Predator. The "R" is the
United States Department of Defense designation for reconnaissance and the "Q" refers to an unmanned aircraft system.
Deployment methodology Each Predator air vehicle can be disassembled into six modules and loaded into a container. This enables all system components and support equipment to be rapidly deployed worldwide. The largest component is the ground control station (GCS) which is designed to roll into a
C-130 Hercules. The Predator primary satellite link consists of a 6.1-meter (20-ft) satellite dish with associated support equipment. The satellite link provides communications between the GCS and the aircraft when it is beyond line-of-sight and links to networks that disseminate secondary intelligence. The RQ-1A system can operate on a 5,000 by 75 foot (1,524 meters by 23 meters) of hard surface runway with clear line-of-sight to each end from the GCS to the air vehicles. Initially, all components needed to be located on the same airfield. In the winter of 2000–2001, after seeing the results of Predator reconnaissance in Afghanistan,
Cofer Black, head of the CIA's
Counterterrorist Center (CTC), became a vocal advocate of arming the Predator with missiles to target
Osama bin Laden in country. He believed that CIA pressure and practical interest were causing the USAF's armed Predator program to be significantly accelerated. Black, and "Richard", who was in charge of the CTC's
Bin Laden Issue Station, continued to press during 2001 for a Predator armed with Hellfire missiles. Further weapons tests occurred between 22 May and 7 June 2001, with mixed results. While missile accuracy was excellent, there were some problems with missile fuzing. In the first week of June, in the Nevada desert, a Hellfire missile was successfully launched on a replica of bin Laden's Afghanistan
Tarnak residence. A missile launched from a Predator exploded inside one of the replica's rooms; it was concluded that any people in the room would have been killed. However, the armed Predator was not deployed before the
September 11 attacks. Given the Predator's pending phase-out and its size, weight, and power limitations, the Air Force decided not to pursue upgrades to make it more effective in contested environments, and determined its only use in defended airspace would be as a decoy to draw fire away from other aircraft. Due to airborne surveillance needs after the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
invaded Iraq, the Predator's retirement was delayed to 2018. MQ-1s will probably be placed in non-recoverable storage at the Boneyard and not sold to allies, although antenna, ground control stations, and other components may be salvaged for continued use on other airframes. General Atomics completed the final RQ-1 ordered by Italy by October 2015, marking the end of Predator A production after two decades. The last Predator for the USAF was completed in 2011; later Predator aircraft were built on the Predator XP assembly line. The
United States Air Force announced plans to retire the MQ-1 on 9 March 2018. The Predator was officially retired from USAF service in March 2018. ==Operational history==