The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is known in the Air Force as a hunter-killer. It flies higher, longer and carries more firepower than its older brother, the Predator. A bigger engine pushes it along at three times the Predator's speed, and lets it carry 15 times more ordnance. Its 66-foot wingspan lifts its five-ton weight into the sky at a cruising speed of 230 miles an hour. In addition to Hellfire missiles, it can carry 500-pound GPS-guided bombs.
For the inside story on America's military operations around the world, check out Mark Thompson's blog, Battleland: Where military intelligence is not a contradiction in terms.