2001 War in Afghanistan

MQ-9 Reaper in the 2001 War in Afghanistan

U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reapers operated from Kandahar Airfield during the post-2015 Afghanistan mission, providing armed intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, close air support, and strike capacity for U.S.-led and Afghan-government-aligned operations.

Weapon profileMQ-9 Reaper
SideUnited States, NATO, and Afghan government forcesRoleReconnaissance & SurveillanceFire SupportTargeting Support
MQ-9 Reaper, Medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned combat aerial vehicle, Aircraft & UAVs - 2001 War in Afghanistan
Image source: File: MQ-9 Reaper - 090609-F-0000M-777.JPG

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reapers operated from Kandahar Airfield during the 2001 War in Afghanistan.

Sources: DVIDS MQ-9 Keeps Eyes on Targets, USAF JDAM Fact Sheet

The Kandahar MQ-9 mission included deliberate strikes, close air support, and aerial reconnaissance.

Sources: DVIDS MQ-9 Keeps Eyes on Targets

An MQ-9 assigned to the 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron was armed with four GBU-38 JDAMs before a mission at Kandahar Airfield on February 22, 2018.

Sources: USAF JDAM Fact Sheet

The public sources used here support U.S. Air Force operation within the U.S.-led coalition side, not Taliban or Afghan government ownership of MQ-9s.

Sources: DVIDS MQ-9 Keeps Eyes on Targets, USAF JDAM Fact Sheet

Timeline

MQ-9 Reaper In 2001 War in Afghanistan

  1. Armed MQ-9 photographed at Kandahar Airfield

    A U.S. Air Force fact-sheet caption identifies an MQ-9 Reaper assigned to the 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron at Kandahar Airfield, armed with four GBU-38 JDAMs before a mission.

    Sources: USAF JDAM Fact Sheet

  2. Kandahar MQ-9 operations described by DVIDS

    DVIDS reported that the 62nd Expeditionary Attack Squadron at Kandahar Airfield operated MQ-9s for deliberate strikes, close air support, and aerial reconnaissance in Afghanistan.

    Sources: DVIDS MQ-9 Keeps Eyes on Targets

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

The MQ-9 Reaper is directly documented in the 2001 War in Afghanistan through U.S. Air Force reporting from Kandahar Airfield. A December 2018 DVIDS story by the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing states that the 62nd Expeditionary Attack Squadron at Kandahar operated MQ-9s for deliberate strikes, close air support, and aerial reconnaissance, and identifies Afghanistan as the mission area.

A separate U.S. Air Force fact-sheet image caption places an MQ-9 Reaper assigned to the 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron on the Kandahar Airfield flightline on February 22, 2018. The aircraft was armed with four GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions before a mission, and the caption says the squadron provided close air support, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities in Afghanistan.

Sources: DVIDS MQ-9 Keeps Eyes on Targets, USAF JDAM Fact Sheet

Timeline

The clearest public post-2015 Afghanistan evidence in this record comes from 2018. On February 22, an MQ-9 at Kandahar Airfield was photographed armed with four GBU-38 JDAMs before a mission. On December 2, DVIDS published a Kandahar-datelined report describing the local MQ-9 force's close-air-support, strike, and reconnaissance work.

The December 2018 report also describes the launch-and-recovery split that shaped MQ-9 operations in Afghanistan. Kandahar crews handled the line-of-sight takeoff and landing phases, then handed aircraft control to stateside mission crews once the aircraft was above the local phase of flight.

Sources: USAF JDAM Fact Sheet, DVIDS MQ-9 Keeps Eyes on Targets

Operational role

The documented operator was the U.S. Air Force within the U.S.-led, NATO, and Afghan-government-aligned side of the war. The cited sources support fielding from Kandahar Airfield during Operation Freedom's Sentinel and NATO Resolute Support-era operations, not Afghan government possession of the aircraft.

The supported role was armed persistent ISR with the ability to support ground forces through close air support and deliberate strikes. The DVIDS account describes long-duration missions, onboard camera-sensor work, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and the aircraft's impact on troops on the ground. The Air Force caption adds a weapon-load example by identifying four GBU-38 JDAMs on a Kandahar-based MQ-9 before a mission.

Sources: DVIDS MQ-9 Keeps Eyes on Targets, USAF JDAM Fact Sheet

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Sources