A U.S military drone, known as an MQ-9 “Reaper” surveillance drone, has crashed into the Black Sea after being hit by a Russian Su-27 fighter jet on Tuesday. The incident has been condemned as “reckless” by the U.S. military.

The MQ-9 “Reaper” is an unmanned aerial vehicle that can fly for up to 27 hours at over 50,000 feet while gathering intelligence using sophisticated cameras, sensors and radars. It has a wingspan of 66 feet and weighs around 4,900 pounds when fully loaded with fuel and equipment.

The drone is owned by the U.S. Air Force but has also been purchased by other organizations including NASA, the UK Royal Air Force and several others. According to General Atomics, the manufacturer of the MQ-9 drone, it costs about $3,500 per flight hour compared to approximately $8,000 per flight hour to operate an F-16.

Can an MQ-9 defend itself?

General Atomics claims that the MQ-9 drone can defend itself from threats using its “Self Protect Pod”, which is capable of detecting surface-to-air weapons and deploying countermeasures against them.

What are the advantages of drones?

Drones are generally less costly to operate than manned aircraft with similar capabilities since they do not require a pilot in command. Drones like the MQ-9 can loiter in one location for hours while collecting large amounts of data using its advanced technology.

The cost for four MQ-9 drones with sensors and satellite link is around $56.5 million according to information released by the Air Force.

This recent collision highlights ongoing concerns regarding airspace safety amid increased use of unmanned aerial vehicles or drones over different parts of the world.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) attempted to launch the country’s first new rocket series in over two decades on Tuesday, but the ignition failed for the rocket’s second stage and the $1.47 billion payload was destroyed just minutes after its launch.

The H3 rocket blasted off from the Tanegashima Space Center and separated as designed, but a command was sent to destroy it about 14 minutes after liftoff. JAXA officials have apologized for the failure, which comes three weeks after an aborted launch due to a different glitch.

The rocket was carrying an Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS), which collects data for disaster response and mapmaking, as well as an experimental infrared sensor developed by the Defense Ministry that can monitor military activity, including missile launches. Unfortunately, there is currently no plan for an alternative satellite launch to replace the earlier generation of the ALOS.

JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa said in a news conference that their top priority is to do everything they can to find the cause and regain trust in their rockets. He added that they need to figure out what they should do to successfully achieve the next launch.

NASA has announced the launch date for its crewed Artemis II Moon mission, aiming to send astronauts to the Moon for the first time in more than half a century in November 2024. The agency has been encouraged by the success of the first uncrewed iteration of the Artemis mission and is confident that they can hold themselves to this launch date. NASA officials have boasted about how well things have gone for the historically touch-and-go Artemis program since it launched its first un-crewed Orion capsule in November 2022, with intense charring of the Orion capsule upon its reentry helping NASA recalibrate the capsule to be better equipped once it has humans on board.

Despite the encouraging progress, there is still a lot of work to be done before the planned launch date. NASA will need to continue investigating the amount of material that burned up during reentry, as well as prepare for any potential issues that could arise between now and then. Nevertheless, with a successful first launch under their belt, NASA is optimistic that they can achieve their goal and make history with this mission.

The Artemis mission is part of NASA’s larger goal to establish a sustainable human presence on and around the Moon by 2028.

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