Italy decommissioned the MQ-1 Predator drone - it served 18 years and flew more than 32,000 hours

The Italian Air Force has decommissioned the old MQ-1 Predator drone. The drone had been in service for nearly two decades.

Here's What We Know

The MQ-1 Predator is a MALE (Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance) class drone. It was developed by General Atomics and made its first flight in 2002. The Italian Air Force decommissioned the drone, which was adopted into service in 2004.

Flashback

The MQ-1 is a striking modification of the RQ-1 reconnaissance drone, which appeared at the end of the 20th century. In addition, it is the first drone model that can carry weapons. In particular, the Hellfire missiles.

The cost per UAV was about $4 million. In total, General Atomics produced 75 MQ-1 and 285 RQ-1 drones.

The Italian drone was first used for operational missions in January 2005. It has spent more than 31,000 hours in the air in 18 years, flying more than 3,800 sorties. In the future, the Italian Air Force plans to adopt the European Falco Explorer drone, which is being developed by Leonardo.

Source: @CiroNappi6