Because offensive uses of the Predator are classified by the U.S., U.S. The RQ-1 Predator was the primary remotely piloted aircraft used for offensive operations by the USAF and the CIA in Afghanistan and the Pakistani tribal areas from 2001 until the introduction of the MQ-9 Reaper it has also been deployed elsewhere. Powered by a Rotax engine and driven by a propeller, the air vehicle can fly up to 400 nmi (460 mi 740 km) to a target, loiter overhead for 14 hours, then return to its base. The UAS consists of four aircraft or 'air vehicles' with sensors, a ground control station (GCS), and a primary satellite link communication suite. The USAF describes the Predator as a 'Tier II' MALE UAS (medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system). The aircraft entered service in 1995, and saw combat in the war in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the NATO intervention in Bosnia, 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the Iraq War, Yemen, the 2011 Libyan civil war, the 2014 intervention in Syria, and Somalia. It was modified and upgraded to carry and fire two AGM-114 Hellfire missiles or other munitions. Conceived in the early 1990s for aerial reconnaissance and forward observation roles, the Predator carries cameras and other sensors. The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator is an American remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) built by General Atomics that was used primarily by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
