After constructing a hangar at Romania’s 71st Air Base, the U.S. Air Force has decided to move some of the MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft units, personnel, and support equipment with the 52nd Expeditionary Operations Group Detachment 2 from Miroslawiec Air Base, Poland, to Aranyosgyéres/Câmpia Turzii, Cluj County.
The relocation should be temporary while the runway at Miroslawiec undergoes construction, the U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa has announced.
The relocated detachment is a geographically separated unit assigned to the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem AB, Germany, with the mission to conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance in selected areas. The MQ-9 aircraft have been operating out of Poland since May 2018. The relocation was conducted in cooperation with Romania.
The MQ-9 Reaper is an armed, multi-mission, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft employed primarily against dynamic execution targets and secondarily as an intelligence collection asset. Due to its outstanding loiter time, wide-range sensors, multi-mode communications suite, and precision weapons, the MQ-9 units have the unique capability to perform strike, coordination, and reconnaissance against high-value, quick, and time-sensitive targets.
Title image: A remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper taxis toward the runway shortly after a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Miroslawiec Air Base, Poland, March 1, 2019. The 52nd Expeditionary Operations Group Detachment 2 works closely with the Polish air force on its mission of operating the MQ-9 to promote security and stability within the region and increase overall capability and readiness of NATO allies and regional partners. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Preston Cherry)
