MQ-9 Reaper: A Look at the American Drone which Killed Iran’s Greatest General

Iran’s most prominent military leader, Quds Force Commander General Qasem Soleimani, was confirmed by U.S. sources to have been assassinated by an MQ-9 Reaper attack drone near Baghdad International Airport in the early hours of January 3rd, 2020. The operation was overseen fully by the CIA. The attack claimed two dozen other members of the general’s convoy, including the commander of the Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Force Mohammed Rida al Jabri, a paramilitary organisation aligned with the Iraqi government. The U.S. hours later moved to designate its close affiliate, the Asaib Ahl al Haq militia, as a terrorist organisation. The American Reaper drones were reportedly operated from Creech Air Force base in Nevada, and their deployment contradicted prior reports that American attack helicopters had been responsible for the strike. The drone strike was personally ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump in the evening of December 2nd, and the U.S. Congress was informed of the attack before it took place.

The MQ-9 Reaper entered service in May 2007 as a successor to the highly successful Predator attack drone, and would play a major role in the Barak Obama administration’s ‘drone wars’ from 2009 striking suspected Al Qaeda targets in Iran, Pakistan, Yemen and other theatres. The drones have carried out several thousand sorties in U.S. service, and were a major pioneer in the field of unmanned warfare. Reapers are prized for their endurance and their quietness, which also makes them valuable as surveillance assets. The aircraft’s primary armament are AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, initially developed for anti armour missions but later modified to launch precision strikes, but Reapers can also carry GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions and GBU-12 laser guided bombs. Work is currently underway to equip the drones with AIM-92 stinger missiles for a limited air to air capability. It remains uncertain which type of munition was used to assassinate General Qasem Soleimani or how many drones participated in the attack.