The UAS consists of four aircraft or "air vehicles" with sensors, a ground control station (GCS), and a primary satellite link communication suite.

[3] 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 MQ-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.

In the early 1990s, the CIA became interested in the "Amber", a drone developed by Leading Systems, Inc.[6] The company's owner, Abraham Karem, was the former chief designer for the Israeli Air Force, and had immigrated to the U.S. in the late 1970s.

In response to the losses caused by cold weather conditions, a few of the later USAF Predators were fitted with de-icing systems, along with an uprated turbocharged engine and improved avionics.

Direct radio signals controlled the drone's takeoff and initial ascent, and then communications shifted to military satellite networks linked to the pilot's van.

The CIA proposed to attempt over Afghanistan the first fully remote Predator flight operations, piloted from the agency's headquarters at Langley.

Previously, Predators were equipped with a synthetic aperture radar for looking through smoke, clouds or haze, but lack of use validated its removal to reduce weight and conserve fuel.

[16] The U.S. Air Force used a concept called "Remote-Split Operations" where the satellite datalink is placed in a different location and is connected to the GCS through fiber optic cabling.

The RQ-1 conducted its first firing of a Hellfire anti-tank missile on 16 February 2001 over a bombing range near Indian Springs Air Force Station north of Las Vegas, Nevada, with an inert AGM-114C successfully striking a tank target.

Black, and "Richard", who was in charge of the CTC's Bin Laden Issue Station, continued to press during 2001 for a Predator armed with Hellfire missiles.

In the first week of June, in the Nevada desert, a Hellfire missile was successfully launched on a replica of bin Laden's Afghanistan Tarnak residence.

Budget proposals planned to retire the Predator fleet between FY 2015 and 2017 in favor of the larger MQ-9 Reaper, which has greater payload and range.

[26] Given the Predator's pending phase-out and its size, weight, and power limitations, the Air Force decided not to pursue upgrades to make it more effective in contested environments, and determined its only use in defended airspace would be as a decoy to draw fire away from other aircraft.

MQ-1s will probably be placed in non-recoverable storage at the Boneyard and not sold to allies, although antenna, ground control stations, and other components may be salvaged for continued use on other airframes.

[2] During the initial ACTD phase, the United States Army led the evaluation program, but in April 1996, the Secretary of Defense selected the U.S. Air Force as the operating service for the RQ-1A Predator system.

The 272d Engineering Installation Squadron, an Air National Guard unit currently located off-base, will move into Ellington Field in its place.

[52] Several others were destroyed in the course of Operation Noble Anvil, the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia: In 2000, a joint CIA-DoD effort was agreed to locate Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.

White House security chief Richard A. Clarke was impressed by the resulting video footage; he hoped that the drones might eventually be used to target Bin Laden with cruise missiles or armed aircraft.

In the first week of June 2001, a Hellfire missile was successfully launched on a replica of bin Laden's Afghanistan Tarnak residence built at a Nevada testing site.

[71] During the initial phases of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, a number of older Predators were stripped down and used as decoys to entice Iraqi air defenses to expose themselves by firing.

[13][69] From July 2005 to June 2006, the 15th Reconnaissance Squadron participated in more than 242 separate raids, engaged 132 troops in contact-force protection actions, fired 59 Hellfire missiles; surveyed 18,490 targets, escorted four convoys, and flew 2,073 sorties for more than 33,833 flying hours.

[79] On 3 November 2002, a Hellfire missile was fired at a car in Yemen, killing Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi, an al-Qaeda leader thought to be responsible for the USS Cole bombing.

[81][82] On 30 September 2011, a Hellfire fired from an American UAV killed Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-citizen cleric and Al Qaeda leader, in Yemen.

[94] On 1 November 2012, two Iranian Sukhoi Su-25 attack aircraft engaged an unarmed Predator conducting routine surveillance over the Persian Gulf just before 05:00 EST.

On 17 March 2015, a US MQ-1 was shot down by a Syrian government S-125 SAM battery when it overflew the port of Latakia, a region not involved in the international military operation.

[99][100] A 2012 New York Times article claimed that U.S. forces used a Predator drone to try and kill Indonesian terrorist Umar Patek in the Philippines in 2006.

[102][103] The Philippines stated the strike was executed by manned North American / Rockwell OV-10 Bronco aircraft with assistance from the U.S.[104] The Predator has also been used by the Italian Air Force.

This dramatically improves the capacity for developing new capabilities, supplying electronic threat resistance, and delivering expeditionary employment to remote areas [112] The U.S. Army selected the MQ-1C Warrior as the winner of the Extended-Range Multi-Purpose UAV competition August 2005.

Data from USAF MQ-1B fact sheet[151]General characteristics Performance Armament Avionics Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era