AF blasts IG's Reaper drone report

In a rare move, the Air Force blasted a Defense Department Inspector General report on the service’s acquisition program for the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial system (UAS) and accused the IG of using outdated information. The IG report claimed the Air Combat Command failed to justify the need to buy 401 Reapers (for $76.8 billion) before submitting the plan to DOD’s Joint Requirements Oversight Council. AF Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Lt. Gen. Robert Otto said the IG based its evaluation on year-old data plans that were no longer accurate. The AF is only buying 346 aircraft (55 fewer than the IG report indicated), Otto said, and “we’ve only received about half that number” which was what the AF “originally estimated prior to sequestration.” The MQ-9 Reaper is the AF’s name for General Atomics’ Predator B UAS. (Source: Military Times 10/02/14) Central Mississippi: General Atomics’ Tupelo, Miss., facility does most of its work for the Navy including advanced launch and recovery systems for aircraft carriers.