General Atomics MQ-1 Predator

The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator is the American remotely piloted aircraft that made armed drones a standard tool of modern war. Developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems from the Gnat 750 under a contract awarded in January 1994, it first flew on 3 July 1994 at El Mirage in the Mojave Desert and entered service in the mid 1990s. A Rotax piston engine turns a pusher propeller, and the aircraft carries cameras and sensors, with later versions able to fire two Hellfire missiles. The United States Air Force and the Central Intelligence Agency flew it over Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen and the Balkans. The Air Force retired the Predator in March 2018 in favour of the larger MQ-9 Reaper.