Ghost in the machineUAV defies controllers' commands and is destroyed by U.S. jet
UAV operators lose control over a rogue Predator-B UAV — a large five-ton turboprop powered machine able to carry up to fourteen Hellfire missiles — and U.S. jets destroy it before it could leave Afghan air space
It was bound to happen sooner or later. An American Reaper hunter-killer UAV rebelled against its human controllers above Afghanistan on Sunday, and a manned U.S. fighter jet was forced to shoot the rogue machine down before it could do damage to targets on the ground.
It could do damage: The MQ-9 Reaper, also called Predator-B, is a large five-ton turboprop powered machine able to carry up to fourteen Hellfire missiles — each capable of destroying a tank or flattening a building. It is used by the U.S. and British forces above Afghanistan as a “persistent hunter-killer against emerging targets.”
According to USAFCENT Public Affairs:
The aircraft was flying a combat mission when positive control of the MQ-9 was lost. When the aircraft remained on a course that would depart Afghanistan’s airspace, a U.S. Air Force manned aircraft took proactive measures to down the Reaper in a remote area of northern Afghanistan.
The statement goes on to say that the errant UAV “impacted the side of a mountain” and that there “were no reports of civilian injuries.”
USAFCENT does not specify just what manned jet went up against the mutinous machine, or what methods the pilot used. Lewis Page writes that the logical choice would be a fighter plane — probably an F-15, -16, or 18 — and the cheapest and most fun weapon to use would be cannon fire. Opposition from the Reaper would not be an issue, as it is a low-performance aircraft compared to a jet fighter and has no air-to-air capability.
It was not clear from the U.S. military announcement whether the erratic UAV had turned on its masters and was planning an attack on critical U.S. logistics bases located north of the Afghan border.
