hello everyone today we'll show you how mq-9 Reaper drones carry out airstrikes and don't
forget to support our channel by pressing the subscribe button below thanks the recent killing
of senior Iranian general Qasem Soleimani has been widely reported as conducted by an mq-9
Reaper drone but what does such an operation actually involve while the ultimate decision to
carry out the attack has clearly been placed with the Trump administration much of the
reporting and commentary has still bought into the misleading idea that drones enabled instant
killing using machines to take away the risks and responsibilities of warfare from military
personnel the US and other militaries that use attack drones are generally very secretive about
their operations adding to the lingering false perceptions as such no official statements have
confirmed the use of the Reaper in this instance although several reports include quotes from
unnamed government sources that do so however the drone strike seems likely in this case because of
the precise nature of the attack and the Reaper is the only publicly known attack drone now operated
by the US military I spent two years working with two RAF Reaper squadrons to research the people
who fly this aircraft this included watching real-time lethal strikes alongside crews at
Creech Air Force Base and RAF Waddington it also included ninety interviews with people
who work with Reapers based on what I learned here are the key things you need to know about
how such an attack would probably play out and the importance of understanding the role
of human military operators first Reapers aren't launched at the touch of a button from thousands
of miles away it takes up to two seconds for a satellite control signal to reach a reaper
on another continent so such a delay would cause crashes on takeoff or landing instead
the Reaper has to be taken off within the line of sight of a nearby launch and recovery pilot
this happens in or near the location where the drones mission will take place once the reaper
is safely airborne control can be transferred to accrue thousands of miles away one report claimed
that the drone used in this soleimani killing was overhead Baghdad Airport when its missile
was launched true salamati himself was killed at Baghdad Airport and Reaper may have been orbiting
the target area but Hellfire missiles are not fired straight downwards nor does a Reaper hover
like a helicopter or the smaller DJI phantom drone the Reaper is an aircraft with a 20 meter wingspan
it's piloted using flight control surfaces like flaps and ailerons which removed via satellite
signal for a successful missile firing the Reaper needs to be up to a few kilometers away from its
target and then pointed towards it to create the right firing angle the missiles typically take
around 30 seconds to hit their target depending on the launch height and distance once a target
is identified it's up to the human operators to launch the attack Reapers are not autonomous
decision-making weapon systems that select victims or choose how and when to kill them soleimani was
killed by a Hellfire laser-guided missile that may have come from a drone but it would have
been fired by a pilot in a ground control station located in the United States each missile would
then have been guided by a sensor operator onto soleimani scar or his escort vehicle
this represents the final stage in a highly human operation sometimes we get the impression that
the drone does it all it doesn't not a video game this is important to understand because
drones are often portrayed as turning killing into a video game but that's not an accurate
analogy at a purely economic level the controls of an mq-9 Reaper drone are actually neither is
sophisticated nor as sensitive as state-of-the-art gaming controllers the mq-1 predator on which
the mq-9 Reaper is based was rushed into service after 9/11 and typical military aircraft testing
and development was not carried out because of time constraints Asura's the controls were not
developed to be as user-friendly as they'll be in the Reapers successors more important is the
human dimension when reaper crews have followed someone for days or weeks their target is not
just pixels on a screen but a living human being operators watch targets spend time with family
and friends and even playing with their children cruise commanders and image analysts also continue
to watch from above after a missile or bomb strike conducting battle damage assessment
they see the bits of bodies being collected and taken for burial they see grieving devastated
family members and they know it's no game with a reset button as a result operating a drone
carries real risks for one thing terrorists have tried to target Reaper pilots and published a hit
list but more prevalent is the psychological risk and repeatedly witnessing traumatizing
events and lethal strikes in close-up detail a senior Reaper commander is described the impact
of this as far greater than it ever was with a manned cockpit these psychological effects are
not yet fully understood but the risk is there as one sensor operator I interviewed said if anybody
on the Reaper fleet says it doesn't affect them then they're lying it does it has two remotely
piloted aircraft like the Reaper will provide key Air Force capabilities for generations to come for
people to debate this technology in a useful way they need to know what they can and cannot do and
understand that the government's are not using autonomous drones to kill random victims human
operators are making life-and-death decisions with huge consequences for everyone involved
well that was how Reaper drones really carry out airstrikes thanks for watching and we'll see you
in the next video Salah mani directed the recent attacks on US personnel in Iraq that badly wounded
for service members and killed one American and he orchestrated the violent assault on the US
Embassy in Baghdad in recent days he was planning new attacks on Amer and targets but we stopped
him solemn and his hands were drenched in both American and Iranian blood he should have been
terminated long ago by removing solemn a knee we have sent a powerful message to terrorists
in recent months alone Iran se ships in international waters fired an unprovoked
strike on Saudi Arabia and shot down two US drones the missiles fired last night at us
and our allies were paid for with the funds made available by the last administration
the regime also greatly tightened the reins on their own country even recently killing
1,500 people at the many protests that are taking place all throughout Iran today I am
going to ask NATO to become much more involved in the Middle East process
the American military has been completely rebuilt under my administration at a cost
of 2.5 trillion dollars u.s. armed forces are stronger than ever before our missiles
are big powerful accurate lethal and fast under construction are many hypersonic missiles the
fact that we have this great military and equipment however does not mean we have to
use it we do not want to use it American strength both military and economic is
the best deterrent finally to the people and leaders of Iran we want you to have a future
and a great future one that you deserve one of prosperity at home and harmony with the
nations of the world the United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek
you