End of an era: The Air Force sends the Predator out to pasture

Twenty-one years ago, the skies over combat zones were a very different place.  Aircraft of all sorts screamed across the sky just as they do today, but just about every one of them had a person at the helm – controlling the craft from within and using a radio to communicate to ground elements and control.  Although instrumental in establishing military superiority over an opponent, manned aircraft offer a few downsides – most prominent among them, having to keep the sack of meat in the pilot seat alive throughout the operation.

Enter the MQ-1 Predator UAV.  While not the first drone aircraft, the Predator quickly became the go-to reconnaissance vehicle for American intelligence and defense agencies, coupling its ability to loiter over an area with a suite of surveillance equipment (called the AN/AAS-52 Multi-spectral Targeting System) held within the craft’s bulbous nose.  Soon, arming the Predator became common practice, serving as both a force multiplier and unique weapons delivery platform that has aided in achieving countless objectives in the war on terror – and gaining plenty of critics for America’s use of the drone over contested regions all over the world.