France Trials Reaper in C-UAS Role – UAS VISION
AI Analysis
France is testing its MQ-9A Reaper Block 5 ER UAVs in a counter-UAS role, successfully firing Hellfire missiles at drone targets. This expands the Reaper's operational capabilities beyond ground targets, offering a new method to counter drone threats.
Key Takeaways
- France trials MQ-9A Reaper Block 5 ER UAVs for counter-UAS roles.
- Successful Hellfire missile firings against drone targets were conducted.
- Reaper Block 5 ER offers extended endurance and range over Block 1.
- The Reaper's payload flexibility allows it to engage multiple drones in one patrol.
- Using Reapers for C-UAS roles may be more cost-effective than high-end air defense systems.
Why It Matters
This development enhances France's capability to address the growing threat of drones with an adaptable and cost-effective solution. It demonstrates the potential for UAVs like the Reaper to serve as versatile platforms in modern warfare, particularly in countering low-cost aerial threats.
France Trials Reaper in C-UAS Role – UAS VISION
France is trialling its General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper Block 5 Extended Range (ER) unmanned aerial vehicles in a counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) role, the Ministry of the Armed Forces disclosed on 8 April.
In early April, at the Île du Levant firing range in southeastern France, the French Air and Space Force (AAE), working with the Defence Procurement Agency (DGA), successfully conducted experimental firings of Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire missiles from a Reaper UAV against unmanned aerial targets. The Ministry noted that only three months after the Hellfire entered service on the Reaper, its use had already expanded beyond ground targets.
“This success provides a new operational capability to counter the drone threat,” the Ministry stated, adding that integrating counter-drone warfare on the Reaper enables a “complementary, graduated, and adaptable” response to varied threats.
France operates 12 Reaper Block 5 ER UAVs, first delivered in 2020, including six upgraded Block 1 systems. The Block 5 ER offers 30 hours of endurance, compared with 24 hours for Block 1, and a range of 2,592 km versus 1,850 km. Unlike the unarmed Block 1, which was limited to intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), the Block 5 ER carries GBU-12/49 Paveway precision-guided bombs and Hellfire missiles, along with an electronic intelligence pod acquired via Foreign Military Sales.
Payload flexibility is central to the concept. A Hellfire-armed Reaper can carry multiple weapons and loiter for extended periods, potentially engaging several drones in a single patrol, effectively acting as an airborne magazine for lower-tier threats.
Although Hellfire missiles are costly, using a Reaper may be more proportionate than deploying high-end air-defence systems against inexpensive drones. The missile’s adaptability—originally air-to-ground but capable of engaging slow aerial targets—makes it well suited to this role. Imagery suggests the target drone resembled a Banshee-type system commonly used for training.
Sources: Janes; Army Recognition