The demand for UAVs to conduct armed overwatch missions to help protect United States forces, as well as their allies and partners, isn't going away, but exact the opposite: For the foreseeable future, the Reapers will continue to provide this invaluable service for American troops around the world, as you can see in a recently released video that includes a unique clip that an MQ-9 Reaper captured of militants firing a rocket-propelled grenade at a C-130 Hercules airlifter that was performing an air drop of cargo at relatively low altitude.
In the full video, the UAV's pilot and sensor operator, who later struck those hostile forces, also offer an interesting behind-the-scenes look at how the unmanned aircraft perform these kinds of armed overwatch missions. The Air Force's 432nd Wing at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, one of the service's premier UAV units, posted the video on YouTube on Apr. 6, 2020. The pilot, 1st Lieutenant Russel, and the sensor operator, Airman First Class Ashley, both assigned to the 20th Attack Squadron, which itself is assigned to the 432nd, but is based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, describe the event.
