USAF Middle East Task Force Seeks New Drone

The U.S. Air Force is exploring options for a new long-range/endurance drone for its Task Force 99, based in Qatar at El Udeid Air Base. Established in October 2022, Task Force 99 performs intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as experimenting with new technologies.

According to a post on the Defense Scoop online news service, the task force falls under Air Force Central (AFCENT) in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in the Middle East. Its duties include increasing air domain awareness, locating hard-to-detect targets, and “creating dilemmas” for adversaries, according to officials.

Requirements projected for the new drone are a range of 1,550 miles (2,500 kilometers) and 24 hours’ endurance. That compares with the current MQ-9A Reaper’s range of 1,150 miles and 27 hours’ endurance. The new drone is expected to have a payload of 10 kilograms (22 pounds), cruise speed of 120 mph and service ceiling of 18,000 feet.

Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, then-commander of AFCENT, said last fall, “We’ve got either on-order or on-hand now 98 different UASs across 13 types with ranges from 20 kilometers out to 900 miles. They can do a variety of things from ISR to potential uses for attack and things of that nature. So, it’s exciting to me to see the department focusing on this. And I think we’ve got a role to play in advancing that technology and kind of looking at the changes of warfare.”