The U.S. Air Force’s MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft has carried out its first landing on a dirt landing zone as part of a training exercise held at the Nine Mile Training Center near Fort Stockton, Texas.
During the event, the unmanned aerial vehicle, which was traditionally operated using line-of-sight antennas, demonstrated its ability to take off and land from anywhere in the world and support missions in austere environments, the Air Force said Wednesday.
“This capability will be critical in ‘tomorrow’s fight’ and nests perfectly with the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment concept that focuses on smaller footprints, distributed operations and increased survivability while generating combat power,” said Lt. Col. Brian Flanigan, director of operations of the 2nd Special Operations Squadron.
The Air Force Special Operations Command exercise involved the participation of airmen from the 26th Special Tactics Squadron from Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico.
MQ-9 Reaper is built by General Atomics’ aeronautical systems division to support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; close air support; combat search and rescue; and precision strike operations.
