MQ-9 Reaper
ICAO Q9The armed drone that defined two decades of air warfare. Live MQ-9 Reaper positions.
Flying right now
Live · 30s
No MQ-9 Reaper is transmitting ADS-B at the moment.
Military aircraft are not obliged to broadcast, so this happens regularly. The count refreshes every thirty seconds.
Airframe
- Manufacturer
- General Atomics
- Role
- Armed reconnaissance drone
- Class
- L1T — Landplane, 1 turboprop engine
- Crew
- Unmanned — two operators on the ground
- First flight
- 2 February 2001
- In service
- 2007
Operators airborne
Nothing of this type is up right now.
About the MQ-9 Reaper
The Reaper is the aircraft most people picture when they hear the word drone. It carries a sensor turret and up to four Hellfire missiles, stays airborne for around twenty-seven hours, and is flown by a pilot and a sensor operator sitting in a container that may be on another continent.
What makes it visible here is an unexpected operator. The United States Customs and Border Protection agency flies unarmed Reapers along the southern border and over the Caribbean, and those aircraft transmit ADS-B because they share airspace with civil traffic. Military Reapers generally do not.
Britain flies the newer MQ-9B as the Protector RG1, certified to operate in civil airspace, and Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Japan and others have bought variants. The type has been in continuous combat use since 2007.
Callsign prefixes
- CBP
- US Customs and Border Protection, the most frequently visible operator
- PROTECTOR
- Royal Air Force MQ-9B
- REAPER
- Occasionally used on transits and test flights
How to recognise it
- —You will not see one from the ground in normal circumstances — it operates high and is unlit.
- —A long straight wing, a bulged nose housing the satellite antenna, and a downward-angled V-tail.
- —On the feed: very slow ground speeds at medium altitude, orbiting one area for many hours.
Common questions
+ Why can I see Reapers over the United States but not elsewhere?
Because the Customs and Border Protection aircraft share airspace with civil traffic and transmit ADS-B accordingly. Military Reapers on operations fly with the transponder off, so they do not appear.
+ How long can an MQ-9 stay airborne?
Around twenty-seven hours, considerably longer than any manned aircraft of its size. That endurance is the point: one aircraft can watch a target for more than a day.
+ What is the difference between the MQ-9 and the MQ-9B?
The MQ-9B SkyGuardian and its naval SeaGuardian variant are substantially redesigned, with longer wings, far greater endurance and — crucially — certification to fly in civil airspace. Britain operates it as the Protector RG1.