Current as of December 2017 

Learn more at www.nationalguard.mil 

Contact NGB Public Affairs at (703) 601-6767 

Air Guard Highlights

• RPAs provide critical data for the

Joint Warfighter - 24/7/365 disseminating more than 1,000 hours of full

motion video every day to joint force

commanders and warfighters on the

ground allowing unmatched persistence and flexibility.

• The ANG is fully engaged with 4

MQ-1 Predator squad-rons and 8

MQ-9 Reaper Squadron.

• The ANG’s increasing contribution to

RPA operations embodies the

National Guard’s role as a vital

warfighting component able to

support the spectrum of combat

operations.

Army Guard Highlights

• The ARNG has 128 Shadow

(RQ-7B) aircraft (32 systems) in 27

States and 2,946 Raven (RQ-11)

aircraft (982 systems) in 53 states

and US territories.

• Unmanned systems operate through

all echelons of altitude and airspace;

interoperability will continue to provide the most complete coverage to

the warfighter and in the future for

emergency response in the homeland

• UAS will continue to contribute and

influence how the ANG and ARNG

fight through innovative tactics,

techniques and proce-dures (TTPs)

to enhance manned & unmanned

teaming -- both air-to-air and air-toground.

Air National Guard (ANG) RPA Mission: The primary mission of the 

MQ-1 Predator andMQ-9 Reaper is to provide intelligence, surveillance, 

reconnaissance and strike capability to joint force commanders engaged 

in the areaof operations. This capability affords far greater visibility of the 

battlefield than they would have otherwise and the ability to strike critical, 

time-perishable targets when needed.

Army National Guard (ARNG) RPA Mission: The Primary mission of the 

RQ-11 Raven and the RQ- 7B Shadow is to provide ground forces with 

visual reconnaissance of the immediate vicinity. They do not have a strike 

capability.

MQ-1 Predator/MQ-9 Reaper Information

• The Air Force (AF) currently flies 60 Predator and Reaper Combat Air

Patrols (CAPs) on which 14 are flown by the ANG

• Predators and Reapers provide more than 1000 hours of full motion video

every day (greater than 33,000 hours per month) to joint force commanders and warfighters on the ground providing unmatched persistent

strike capability and flexibility

• The fully operational system consists of an air vehicle (with sensors and

weapons), a ground control station (GCS), a squadron operations center

(SOC) and the satellite earth terminal sub-station

Raven RQ-11/Shadow RQ-7B Information

• The ARNG Unmanned Aerial Surveillance (UAS) units have flown over

225,000 total flight hours in support of OIF (Iraqi Freedom), OEF

(Enduring Freedom), and OND (New Dawn) operations.

• The ARNG UAS units return from combat operations and con-tinue to

face challenges with operating aircraft for training in the National

Airspace System (NAS).

• Due to Federal Aviation Administration issues when operating outside of

military controlled airspace, the ARNG has not been able to use

unmanned aircraft for domestic oper-ations, but we expect that will

change as the FAA develops procedures to integrate UAS into the

National Airspace System.

The USAF will train nearly 600 Predator/Reaper pilots in FY16 and every

year through FY21 in order to meet the demand and maintain a healthy

Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) force

•

Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA)