Drones used by the US to spy on, hunt, and kill terror suspects are “useless” in just about every other combat-related scenario, a top Air Force general said.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Drones used by the US to spy on, hunt, and kill terror suspects are “useless” in just about every other combat-related scenario, a top Air Force general said.

Predator drones ‘useless’ in combat scenarios - Air Force general

Published time: September 20, 2013 00:15
Edited time: September 20, 2013 03:37

Maintenence personel check a Predator drone operated by U.S. Office of Air and Marine (OAM), before its surveillance flight near the Mexican border.(AFP Photo / John Moore)

The fleet of MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper drones are no match for aircraft that can fly higher and faster, like those employed by the most basic of air defenses around the world, Gen. Mike Hostage, chief of the air service's Air Combat Command, said at an Air Force Association conference.

"Predators and Reapers are useless in a contested environment," Hostage said, as quoted by Foreign Policy.

"Today...I couldn't put [a Predator or Reaper] into the Strait of Hormuz without having to put airplanes there to protect it," he added.

The Air Force revealed this week that an F-22 intercepted an Iranian F-4 Phantom jet fleet closing in on a US Predator over the strait earlier this year. In late 2012, Iranian jets fired on and missed a Predator drone in the strait.

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