Thanks to an urgent operational requirement stemming from experience in Afghanistan, Britain's Royal Air Force is preparing to provide close-air support with armed unmanned aerial systems -- in this case, the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9 Reaper, previously known as Predator B. In March, the RAF stood up 39 Squadron, the first UAS squadron in RAF service. At a Royal Aeronautical Society conference on UAS developments in London in November -- less than a month after the first flight of a Reaper in RAF colors -- the officer commanding 39 Squadron, Wing Commander Andrew Jeffrey, took delegates through events culminating in readiness for offensive air operations in theater.
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