(Franco Iacch)
02/04/16

http://www.difesaonline.it/mondo-militare/turchia-ennesimo-guasto-tecnico-precipita-un-predator-usa-linaffidabilit%C3%A0-dei-droni-%C3%A8

A predator USA crashed last night in southern Turkey, after takeoff near the Incirlik airbase, near the city of Adana. The MQ-1 Predator crashed in Dogankent district, 20 km from the base. In an official statement of the 39th Squadron Controller, confirming the mechanical failure that caused the accident. No injuries were reported.

This is the second Predator that the Air Force lost in 2016. On January 8 another Predator crashed in Iraq, during a combat mission. Even at this juncture by the Pentagon talked of "mechanical failure" and not enemy fire. Another MQ-1 crashed in Kumlu district, near the border between Turkey and Syria on 20 October. That the drone suffered from reliability problems is now a fact. Nevertheless their ability to launch air strikes is considered essential component in any business environment.

In 2014, Predator and Reaper have flown for 369,913 hours, six times the figure reported in 2006, according to the Air Force official statistics. The problems associated with the reliability still remain. Only in the year just ended the Air Force has lost twenty drones. And 'it considered the annus horribilis of unmanned systems. Ten Reaper have been lost due to a faulty electrical generator. Although you know the problem, the Pentagon has not yet managed to solve the problem that causes a blackout in the main of the "Reapers" system. Obviously we talk about the use of drones in missions not covered by military secret. The same incidents are well guarded by the Pentagon, reluctant to issue data on one of its most used weapons. The Air Force uses its own fleet of drones in anti-terrorist operations in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya, Mali and Cameroon (to name only a few theaters). Within the next five years, the Air Force will become the largest fighting force by UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) on the planet. The new program of three billion dollars (expects congressional approval) has been defined as essential to guarantee the US presence in all crisis areas of the globe, present and future. A force, the current one, both considered undersized in terms of available UAV pilots. It 'also changed the way in which drones are used by the US. In Iraq, as in Syria, armed UAVs flying in prevalence in mission profiles that require highly skilled pilots to be those that fly on the hunt.

The current fleet of 175 150 Predator and Reaper, the US intends to add another 75 "Reapers". The program includes a new fleet divided on well 17 squadrons (from the current eight) and additional staff, totaling 3,500 units more, including pilots and sensor operators. In 2015, the Air Force lost in accidents even ten autonomous Predator. It 's the highest rate of accidents from 2011. Data, we repeat, not taking into account the covert operations. There would, in fact, five more Predator crashed in the planet areas where, in theory, there should not be any US redeployment. The only confirmed killing the Air Force dates back to 17 March, when a Predator was shot down by Syrian air defenses near Latakia. In detail, the Air Force lost four drones in the Horn of Africa, near a US military base in Djibouti. Three in ten of Iraq and Kuwait, Turkey, Syria and Libya. At least three other incidents, although confirmed by the Air Force, took place in secret locations.

Even the Army's fleet suffered heavy losses. In 2015 the US Army lost four Gray Eagle: three in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. Utmost secrecy, finally, for the operations of the CIA that manages its own fleet for covert operations to places unknown. In the year just ended, the CIA would have lost at least eight Reaper. In total, half of the 269 Predator purchased by the Air Force have been lost or severely damaged in accidents. Just the Air Force plans to close the Predator line (in service yet 140 drones General Atomics) and replace it gradually with the Reaper. The latter, however, continues to show electrical problems. The main problem would have been identified in the main generator that feeds the drone. For reasons that "remain unclear" tends to fade. The emergency batteries provide one hour of flight, which is why any kind of malfunction, if it occurs in the middle of enemy territory, could prove fatal. In that case there is no other solution but to crash the drone.

Unlike most aircraft, the Reaper does not have a backup power system. Defined an "oversight in design", the Pentagon has ordered that all future Reaper are equipped with an electric permanent backup system. If anything, the problem lies elsewhere: in service there are 175 Reaper without such support device.

(Photo: web)

---

No need for hackers. As long that there is microsoft.

IZAKOVIC