{"id":28788,"date":"2018-11-09T18:55:32","date_gmt":"2018-11-09T18:55:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/11\/09\/taliban-posts-photos-of-mq-9-reaper-they-claim-to-have-shot-down-us-says-it-simply-crashed\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:52:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:52:12","slug":"taliban-posts-photos-of-mq-9-reaper-they-claim-to-have-shot-down-us-says-it-simply-crashed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/11\/09\/taliban-posts-photos-of-mq-9-reaper-they-claim-to-have-shot-down-us-says-it-simply-crashed\/","title":{"rendered":"Taliban posts photos of MQ-9 Reaper they claim to have shot down; US says it simply crashed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An unmanned aircraft suffered a malfunction and crashed in Afghanistan in late October, U.S. military officials say. It then wound up in Taliban propaganda <\/a>photos, where militants claimed they shot down the drone<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several pictures surfaced on Taliban channels over the past week, allegedly showing the wreckage of an armed U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone<\/a> with large trucks in the background. The serial number is legible on the aircraft wreckage, and what appears to be AGM-114 Hellfire missiles are laid out in a row beside the debris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drone was supporting NATO\u2019s Resolute Support advise and assist mission in Afghanistan<\/a> when it went down in the southeastern portion of the country last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAn MQ-9 unmanned aerial system crashed on Oct. 28 at approximately 1:30 a.m. in Paktika province due to engine failure. The UAS was destroyed that evening to prevent capture of sensitive equipment,\u201d U.S. Army Maj. Bariki Mallya, a Resolute Support spokesperson, told Air Force Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MQ-9 is predominately an armed hunter-killer drone, however the aircraft is also capable of surveillance and intelligence collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mallya did not respond to questions about the authenticity of the pictures, whether there were concerns that sensitive equipment could have been captured or how the aircraft was destroyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, standard procedure would prescribe an airstrike on the downed drone to prevent enemy capture of sensitive equipment, which includes the drone\u2019s sensor, cameras and munitions, according to a former Air Force pilot who flew both the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper drones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe approved solution would be to put a 500 or 2,000 [pound bomb] on it after it goes down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The four-bladed propeller among the wreckage indicates the aircraft was likely the extended-range version of the Reaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These pictures were allegedly taken by Taliban propagandists attempting to claim they shot down the drone. (Screenshot)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The pictures were posted by a social media user who appeared to be a Taliban supporter, according to Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and editor of the Long War Journal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOften these are Taliban supporters that take the pics, then they may or may not get picked up by [Voice of Jihad] or the [Taliban] spokesmen,\u201d Roggio said. \u201cLots of times they wind up in the Arabic or Pashtun sites but not English.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In late October, before the pictures surfaced, the Taliban claimed on their official website that a \u201cpilot-less spy plane was trying to gather intelligence when it was brought down in Gomal district of Paktika province,” which is considered contested territory between the U.S.-backed Afghan government and the militants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The former Reaper and Predator pilot said that the U.S. explanation made a lot more sense given the wreckage and known Taliban capabilities over the 17-year-long war in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne blade is bent so that\u2019s probably where it hit the ground, whereas another blade is perfectly straight on the part of the propeller that didn\u2019t hit the ground,\u201d the pilot noted. \u201cSo my guess is the engine had stopped, otherwise maybe all of the blades would have been bent in the same direction if it was still rotating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe other thing I noticed is there are a lot of pieces, so it probably was a high speed impact in order to maximize the destruction of the equipment,\u201d the pilot added.<\/p>\n\n\n\t