Predators collected intelligence, searched for targets and kept cameras aimed at Kosovar-Albanian refugees. The Predator system was employed in the 1999 Kosovo air campaign. In October of 2001 the Predator was deployed to Afghanistan to provide intelligence and a strike capability to Operation Enduring Freedom. Although the Army initially led the Predator program, the Pentagon chose the Air Force as the lead service.

Three systems were bought as part of the ACTD, totaling twelve air vehicles, three GCSs and three Trojan Spirit IIs. Live video is disseminated through the Joint Broadcast System (JBS).ĭeveloped as an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) program, the Predator has participated in various training exercises, demonstrations, and operational deployments. Sensor imagery is disseminated from the Predator ground control station via the Trojan Spirit II SATCOM system using the Joint Deployable Intelligence Support System (JDISS) and the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System (JWICS). The TS II physically consists of two High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) and two trailer-mounted SATCOM antennas. The current data dissemination is through the TROJAN SPIRIT II (TS II), a Special Compartmented Information (SCI) satellite communications (SATCOM) system that allows transmission and receipt of secure voice and National Imagery Transmission Format (NITF) imagery data. The GCS is housed in a 30 ft x 8 ft x 8 ft commercial van. The ground control station consists of a pilot position and a payload operator position, which are interchangeable, a Data Exploitation, Mission Planning and Communications (DEMPC) position where imagery is annotated and initially exploited, and a SAR workstation. The sensors include an electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) Versatron Skyball Model 18 with a zoom lens and a spotter lens, and a Westinghouse 783R234 synthetic aperture radar (SAR). The benefits of this component system are that it can be easily deployed around the world. This satellite system is especially important because is provides the Predator aerial vehicle to communicate beyond line-of-sight with its GCS. The air vehicle can be broken-down into six primary parts and packed into a container known as the 'coffin.' The satellite communication system consists of a 20-foot satellite dish and its associated support equipment. In addition, the vehicle requires line-of-sight with the GCS and all support components for the Predator system must be at a single location. According to the The Air Force Fact Sheet the RQ-1A needs 5,000 by 125 feet of a hard surface runway.

A four-cylinder Rotax engine that requires 100-octane aviation gas powers the air vehicle. The air vehicle is a mid-wing monoplane with a slender fuselage housing the payload and fuel, a high aspect ratio wing, and inverted-V tails.

One Predator system has four air vehicles with sensors and data links, one Ground Control Station (GCS), and one Trojan Spirit II SATCOM system. The Predator system is composed of three parts: the air vehicle with its associated sensors and communications equipment, the ground control station (GCS), and the product or data dissemination system. The Predator Medium Altitude Endurance (MAE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) was developed as an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) from January 1994 to June 1996. This system is operated by the 11th and 15th reconnaissance squadrons at Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field in Nevada. The Predator system was designed to provide constant intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to US strategic and tactical forces. This marked the first use of an armed Predator as an attack aircraft outside of a theater of war such as Afghanistan.Īccording to the Air Force, the Predator is a 'Joint Forces Air Commander-owned theater asset for reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition in support of the Joint Force commander.' Because the Predator is unmanned it is suitable for deployment in 'moderate risk areas', unsecured air space, 'open ocean environments, and biological or chemical contaminated environments.' In addition, as the October 2001 attacks in Afghanistan have illustrated, the Predator can now perform a search and destroy mission with no apparent risk to US military personnel. A CIA-controlled Predator firing a Hellfire missile was used to kill six suspected al-Qa'ida terrorists in Yemen on November 3, 2002.

Predator drone