“Yesterday, an MQ-9 did crash in the vicinity of Yemen. That is being investigated, but I don’t have any additional details to share,” Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder told journalists.

The Houthis claimed Tuesday that they had shot down three MQ-9s over the past week — a figure Ryder described as “too high.”

The Pentagon spokesman said he could not provide a specific number for security reasons, but that the Houthis’ figure “is not accurate.”

The latest drone crash came after the Pentagon confirmed in February that another MQ-9 — which can be used for both reconnaissance and strikes — went down off the Yemeni coast after apparently being struck by a Houthi missile.

The Houthis — who are opposed to government forces in Yemen and are one of several militant groups arrayed against Israel — began attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November.

They say they are attacking Israel-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war, but ships from multiple countries that have no ties to the conflict have been targeted.

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AFRICOM officials said during a recent defense conference in Washington, DC, that the General Atomics aircraft is now being “legacy-ed out,” thus the need for a more modern aerial system.

They also highlighted the importance of having a long-endurance platform, which should be able to stay in the air “well beyond three days.”

The extended-range version of the MQ-9 Reaper has a flight endurance of 30 hours.

Changing Geopolitical Landscape

AFRICOM strategic capabilities division chief Fred Gregory said that the changing geopolitical landscape in the region has affected the command’s airborne ISR capabilities.

With its recent withdrawal from Niger, the command reportedly lost some of its key ISR bases in Africa, forcing it to fly from England and Somalia.

“This means we won’t have as much time on station or to react due to the distances,” Gregory explained. “We don’t have a lot of bases, so that’s a challenge as it relates to long dwell and endurance, as they (Reapers) are usually pretty big aircraft.”

Without a suitable replacement, Gregory warned that AFRICOM’s airborne ISR capabilities in the region will have eroded by 2026.

“We won’t have [any airborne] ISR access,” he stressed.

Funding in Place

Pentagon Undersecretary for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu said that funding and investments are already in place for long-endurance drones.

Without providing specific details, she revealed that the defense department already tested an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can loiter for “seven to eight days.”

The Pentagon has also reportedly been collaborating with the defense industry for solar-powered, stratospheric UAVs.

In July, the US Air Force announced that its ULTRA reconnaissance drone flew for three days straight during a recent trial.

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Valued at $738 million, the potential foreign military sale covers the supply of six Block 5 Reaper drones and three mobile ground control stations.

Twelve multi-spectral target systems and nine AN/APY-8 synthetic aperture radars will also be delivered to Rome should the sale go through.

General Atomics will also provide necessary maintenance support services, personnel training, and associated spare parts.

According to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the proposed sale “will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the US by improving the security of a NATO ally.”

No timeline was provided in the foreign military sale announcement.

About the Reaper Drone

The MQ-9 Block 5 is an advanced variant of the US Air Force’s MQ-9 Reaper drone.

It features enhanced avionics, improved electrical power, and increased payload capacity.

Its 950-shaft-horsepower turboprop engine allows the drone to reach a maximum speed of 300 miles (482 kilometers) per hour.

Additionally, the Block 5 variant boasts an extended operational range of 1,150 miles (1,850 kilometers) thanks to its increased internal fuel capacity.

Once delivered, the MQ-9s are expected to improve Italy’s capability to meet current and future threats.

The European nation already operates five MQ-9 Block 5 drones, each with precision strike capability.

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Called the T-SOAR (Scalable Open Architecture Reconnaissance), the pod mimics an enemy’s radar and communication emissions and sends them back to the source.

“What they bring with them is a sensing and making sense capability,” Seapower quoted Commandant of the Marine Corps General Eric M. Smith as saying at a Brookings Institution event last week. 

“Some of the programs are classified. Some of the pods that go on our MQ-9s are classified. It’s called a T-SOAR pod, and what it does is it can mimic things that are sent to it that it detects, turn it around, and send it back so that it becomes a black hole. It becomes mostly undetectable.”

‘Invisible Cloak’

It appears to be a derivative of the SOAR pod developed by General Atomics and L3Harris, and is likely to have already been tested by the US Air Force in 2021 in the form of the Reaper Defense Electronic Support System.

The 634-pound (287-kilogram) SOAR “provides long-range detection, identification, and location of radar and communication signals of interest,” according to General Atomics.

“SOAR enables MQ-9 or other aircraft operators to provide standoff surveillance — seeing threats before threats can see the aircraft — and communicate actionable intelligence.”

Sensing Platform Against China

It’s not clear how many of the 20 MQ-9A Block 5 the service is acquiring will be equipped with the pod, which is integral to turning the two-decade-old hunter-killer platform into a sensing one.

The US Marines want the extended-range Reapers primarily for communications and data relay, electronic warfare, maritime domain awareness, and ISR missions in the Indo-Pacific against China.

The aircraft provides a capability leap over the much smaller legacy RQ-7 Shadow and RQ-21 Blackjack drones, with 18 expected to be fielded by 2025.

“If you’re going to be out-sticked by the adversary, then in terms of sensing and in terms of striking, you’re of no value,” Smith added. 

“You have to be able to sense at range. You have to be able to make sense of what’s happening. You have to be able to share that data ubiquitously across the battlespace with the joint force, which is why our MQ-9 is so important.”

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Kyiv had previously sought the General Atomics drone to aid its strike and reconnaissance operations, but Washington had been hesitant to provide it over fear that it could be shot down by Russia.

But four people familiar with the matter recently told Politico that the war-torn nation has made a significant change in its request, guaranteeing the US the Reaper would only be used for surveillance.

More specifically, they said the MQ-9 would only help identify Russian targets deep behind the frontlines to reduce the risk of being taken down or captured by Moscow.

If Washington decides to heed the request, it will most likely remove the Reaper’s heavy payloads, such as its air-to-ground Hellfire missiles.

What’s Behind the Fear?

The MQ-9 Reaper is one of the most advanced drones in the US military inventory.

It boasts nearly 25 hours of flight endurance and has Raytheon’s electro-optical multispectral targeting system, which provides real-time intelligence, targeting, and tracking.

Despite its sophisticated features, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet was still able to neutralize one earlier this year during an aerial encounter over the Black Sea.

“Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner,” the US European Command said.

After the incident, Moscow revealed that it plans to reverse-engineer the MQ-9, fueling speculations that Russia would try to make a copy of the American drone.

Alleged Counteroffensive

The revival of the MQ-9 drone request comes weeks after the US said it secretly sent the long-range variant of its Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS).

The two American systems could work in tandem in Ukraine, with the Reaper collecting target information and the ATACMS ensuring precision strikes.

This, along with other weapons to arrive as part of a $61-billion supplemental aid bill, could support Kyiv’s anticipated counteroffensive against invading forces.

In March, a top Ukrainian military commander confirmed his country was planning to form units for another counteroffensive action later this year.

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It is the second time an MQ-9 — which can be used for both surveillance and strikes — was lost near Yemen in recent months, with US officials confirming last year that another was downed by the Houthis.

The apparent shoot-down came the same day that the rebels targeted two US-owned merchant vessels as they continue their multi-month campaign of attacks on shipping in the area.

“On February 19, a US MQ-9 was downed or went down off the coast of Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, in the Red Sea,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told journalists.

“Initial indications are that it was shot down by a Houthi surface-to-air missile,” Singh said.

The Houthis — who are opposed to government forces in Yemen and are also part of the “axis of resistance” of groups arrayed against Israel — said they shot down an MQ-9 in November 2023, while the United States assessed that another was downed by the rebels in 2019.

Earlier on Tuesday, the military’s Central Command said US and coalition aircraft and warships shot down 10 one-way attack drones in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden between 8:00 pm on Monday and 12:30 am the following day.

US-Owned Ships Targeted

The French defense ministry said Tuesday that the country’s navy had destroyed two drones over the Red Sea during the night, but it was not immediately clear if they were included in the CENTCOM figures.

The US military command also said an American destroyer shot down an anti-ship cruise missile that was “headed in its direction” early on Tuesday, while US forces destroyed a drone and a missile launcher in Yemen the day before.

On Monday, two anti-ship ballistic missiles caused minor damage to the M/V Sea Champion — a US-owned, Greek-flagged grain ship — while a drone hit the M/V Navis Fortuna, a US-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier, CENTCOM said.

The Houthis had said in a statement Monday that they had targeted “two American ships in the Gulf of Aden. The first was ‘Sea Champion’ and the other was ‘Navis Fortuna.'”

The Houthis began attacking Red Sea shipping in November, saying they were hitting Israel-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war.

US and UK forces responded with strikes against the Houthis, who have since declared American and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.

Anger over Israel’s devastating campaign in Gaza — which began after an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 — has grown across the Middle East, stoking violence involving Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.

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The milestone validated the remotely piloted system’s capability at its “first-lifetime” stage, a timeline equivalent to the platform’s initial 40,000 operating hours.

This routine assessment was established as part of NATO’s STANAG 4671 certification, which requires allied drones to be trialed for three lifetimes to prove their operability when deployed in other members’ airspace.

During the process, experts simulated the MQ-9B’s design service by applying “repeated structural loading” onto the aircraft.

This process picks up potential issues throughout the drone structure before fleet deployment.

Data collected through the application is also used for future inspection, maintenance schedules, additional certification, and in-service checkups.

The trial was held with Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research.

Three Lifetime Tests

General Atomics wrote that two of the three lifetime fatigue demonstrations would evaluate the drone under normal conditions.

The third examination will intentionally damage the airframe’s vital components to ensure the system’s resistance to operational attrition.

“Full-scale fatigue testing is an integral part of validating the airframe design and a key input to the certification of the airframe prior to going into service,” General Atomics MQ-9B Europe VP Chris Dusseault stated.

“The completion of the fatigue test builds confidence for our MQ-9B customers that the SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian airframe meets the stringent design rigor and is a mature system at Entry into Service.”

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The milestone is expected to help establish new squadrons of cutting-edge unmanned systems operated by skilled personnel.

The Marine Corps, along with other services within the US military, has been expanding its drone-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities amid growing threats from near-peer adversaries.

Training 100 new Reaper pilots is a significant achievement, especially after the service previously failed to meet its quota.

In 2022, the US Marine Corps announced that it was only able to train 38 pilots out of the 68 needed. The trained pilots also happened to be commissioned officers instead of warrant officers similar to the ones the US Air Force is utilizing.

Reaper Program

Unlike the US Air Force, which first operated the MQ-9 in 2007, the US Marine Corps only received its Reaper drone in 2018 under a lease program.

It was finally able to procure its own from General Atomics in 2020, the same year it inaugurated a new military occupational specialty for MQ-9 pilots.

According to the service, the Marine Reaper pilots will act as a “stand-in” force of the future, supporting maritime littoral missions.

“We need to transition from our current [unmanned aerial system] platforms to capabilities that can operate from ship, from shore, and be able to employ both collection and lethal payloads,” it noted.

At present, three Marine Corps units operate the Reaper: VMU-1 in Arizona, UX-24 in Maryland, and VMU-3 in Hawaii.

Boosting Surveillance Capabilities

The US military has invested heavily in ISR capabilities, especially after a Chinese spy balloon was able to enter its well-guarded airspace last year and fly over military installations.

The US Army already announced plans to launch its own spy balloon program in 2025 to help all services improve their reaction time to potential threats.

The US Navy has also bolstered its long-range maritime patrol capability with the acquisition of several P-8A Poseidon aircraft from Boeing.

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The Houthis — who have downed an American drone before — said the MQ-9 was spying as part of US support for Israel in its war against Hamas.

“A US military MQ-9 remotely-piloted aircraft was shot down off the coast of Yemen by Houthi forces,” the official said.

The Houthis — who seized Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014 and control large swathes of the country — claimed the shootdown earlier in the day.

“Our air defenses were able to down an American MQ-9 while it was carrying out hostile surveillance and espionage activities in Yemeni territorial waters as part of American military support” for Israel, the Houthis said in a statement.

The United States rushed military support to Israel and bolstered American forces in the region after Hamas militants carried out a shock cross-border attack from Gaza on October 7 that Israeli officials say killed more than 1,400 people.

Israel’s military responded with a relentless air, land, and naval assault on Gaza that the territory’s health ministry says has left more than 10,500 people dead, sparking widespread anger in the region.

The Houthis have targeted Israel on multiple occasions in recent weeks, and the US Navy intercepted several missiles fired by the Houthis last month.

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The confirmation came as open-source flight trackers spotted unmarked aircraft hovering over the Palestinian territory.

“These UAV flights began after the Oct 7 attack by Hamas on Israel,” BBC quoted the Pentagon as saying.

240 Captives, Including Americans

It is unclear whether the effort is aimed at freeing all the over 240 captives or just the US ones, ABC News wrote, citing an unnamed US official.

Ten Americans have been unaccounted for from Israel since October 7 when the Palestinian armed group breached Israeli borders, killing over a thousand and taking back dozens as hostages.

Hostage Rescue Effort

The flights appear to be part of a broader US effort to assist Israel in locating the hostages, including the presence of US Special Operations Forces for planning and intelligence support.

“The US is conducting unarmed UAV flights over Gaza, as well as providing advice and assistance to support our Israeli partner as they work on their hostage recovery efforts,” BBC quoted the Pentagon as saying.

Reaper Features

Featuring an endurance of over 20 hours and high-resolution video and infrared cameras, the Reaper is primarily deployed for surveillance missions.

Its sensors can provide signals intelligence involving communication devices such as cell phones.

It can also be armed with up to eight Hellfire missiles for precision strikes.

CIA Director in Israel 

Meanwhile, Central Intelligence Agency director William Burns arrived in Israel Sunday on the first stop of a multicountry trip in the region.

Expanded intelligence sharing between the US and Israel — “that could be useful about hostage locations or any follow-on attacks by Hamas” — is one of the visit’s agendas, according to the New York Times.

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