The deadly drone that killed Qasem Soleimani weighs as much as an African elephant

20 metres is roughly two stories of a building — or around the same size at the Gateway of India in Mumbai. Considering its expanse, the aircraft only weighs the same as an African forest elephant — the smallest of all the elephants.

This means the MQ-9 Reaper drone is capable of flying above most commercial aircraft that cruise between 9 to 11 kilometres above sea level. As its cruising at such a high altitude where winds are faster and visibility is questionable, the drone is also capable of carrying 1,701 kilograms in addition to its own weight.

The MQ-9 Reaper drone can go as fast as 482 kilometres per hour (kph), but it has a cruising speed of 370 kph. While that may be slower than some other drones in the market — like the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk that can hit 629 kph — it’s one of the marginal compromises made in exchange for stealth.

During the 2019 Aviation Nation airshow, the MQ-9 Reaper drone was out of place among the other ear-splitting aircraft. It silently flew by for a single demo, reportedly sending shivers down viewers’ spines, as its Honeywell TPE331-10 turboprop engine barely made a peep.

The best characteristic of the MQ-Reaper, like all other drones, is that it doesn’t need a human pilot. This means if there’s a chance that a mission could go wrong, no human lives will be put at risk. In fact, operators can be as far as 1,850 kilometres from the drone and still perform manoeuvres. That distance is almost the same as the north to south width of Russia.

The US Air Force drone is equipped with a Multi-Spectral Targeting System (MSTS). That means even before the target is within the drone’s line of sight, there are already numerous visual sensors locking on. This includes an infrared sensor, colour daylight TV camera, image intensified TV camera, laser range finder and laser illuminator.

The MQ-9 Reaper drone is capable of firing a combination of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, GBU-12 Paveway III bombs and GB-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions bombs.