The Air Force announced yesterday that an MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle crashed in southern Afghanistan on July 4. The crash was not due to hostile fire. The service said a board will be convened to investigate the incident. Based on Air Force data provided to us last week, the service had lost only one Reaper as of June 30 in Southwest Asia. It is not known if the newly crashed Reaper was destroyed or can be reused. USAF introduced the Reaper into Afghanistan in September 2007 and in Iraq last July.
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.