The SLR-P enables the launch and recovery of the Reaper UAV from austere locations with a much reduced manpower footprint. (Janes/Patrick Allen)

The US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) and Air Forces Africa (AFAFRICA) has demonstrated a new package for the remote launch and recovery of the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), it announced on 7 September.

The command proved the capability during a technological proof of concept of the Reaper’s Satellite Launch and Recovery Package (SLR-P) at the 12th Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Base

in Mirosławiec, Poland.

“With this technology, we’re putting the ‘A’ in ACE [Agile Combat Employment] for the MQ-9A,” Major Philip West, USAFE-AFAFRICA project lead said, referencing the ACE acronym whereby USAFE-AFAFRICA seeks to provide the means to deploy rapidly between dispersed operating locations without sacrificing combat capabilities.