MORENO VALLEY>> The California Air National Guard’s 163d Attack Wing is formally welcoming the arrival of the MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft, here in Moreno Valley, with a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday, June 14, 2017.
From 9:30 to 11 a.m., unit leadership and subject matter experts will be on hand for media interviews. An MQ-9 will be on display for photo and video opportunities. A demonstration flight will also be conducted, pending favorable weather.
The aircraft are now housed at and flying routine training missions from March ARB following a recent move from Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, where the wing has conducted remotely piloted aircraft flight operations since 2008.
The MQ-9 is a multi-mission, medium-altitude, long-endurance RPA that is used in combat against dynamic execution targets and secondarily as an intelligence collection asset. Given its significant loiter time, wide-range sensors, multi-mode communications suite, and precision weapons -- it provides a unique capability to perform strike, coordination, and reconnaissance against high-value, fleeting, and time-sensitive targets.
As an Air National Guard asset, the MQ-9’s full motion video and data collection capabilities can and has been used – with Secretary of Defense approval -- for domestic search and rescue operations, and during emergencies such as California’s Rim Fire in 2013.