PR008

PR008 is a General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9 Reaper, a single-engine turboprop. SkyMeter has tracked 6 flights totalling 26 hours of airtime via ADS-B across 2 callsigns. The most frequent segment is EGXW to EGXW. Service window in our records spans 48 days. The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9 Reaper has a maximum takeoff weight of 10,500 lb, light wake category.

About the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9 Reaper

The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is the world's most widely deployed armed medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aircraft, representing a quantum leap over its predecessor, the unarmed MQ-1 Predator. First flown in 2001 and entering service with the U.S. Air Force in 2007, the Reaper was purpose-built for persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions with strike capability — a hunter-killer that can loiter over a target area for more than 27 hours while carrying precision-guided munitions.

Powered by a single Honeywell TPE331-10 turboprop producing 900 shaft horsepower, the MQ-9 cruises at altitudes up to 50,000 feet and reaches speeds around 240 knots, far exceeding the Predator's performance envelope. Its 66-foot wingspan and modular payload bays accommodate electro-optical/infrared sensors, synthetic aperture radar, signals intelligence packages, and up to 3,750 pounds of ordnance on six external hardpoints. Beyond military strike operations in counterterrorism theaters, the Reaper has found a second career in homeland security and border surveillance.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection operates a dedicated fleet — identifiable by CBP tail numbers and callsigns like MAZE and TROY — patrolling vast stretches of the southern and northern borders, coastal waters, and disaster zones. These unarmed CBP variants carry advanced maritime patrol radar and long-range cameras, providing persistent overwatch that would be prohibitively expensive with manned aircraft.

The type's operational flexibility, from 20-hour maritime patrols to rapid-response wildfire mapping, has made it indispensable for agencies requiring wide-area surveillance without crew fatigue constraints. SkyMeter has tracked flights across airframes and operators, with the largest observed operator.