Following 2001, the RQ-1 Predator became the primary unmanned aircraft used for offensive operations by the USAF and the CIA in Afghanistan and the Pakistani tribal areas; it has also been ...

For the military, drones — more commonly referred to as unmanned aerial vehicles ... into formidable tools of warfare. In 2002, the RQ-1 Predator was fitted with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles ...

In April 1996, the secretary of defense selected the U.S. Air Force as the operating service for the RQ-1 Predator system. The "R" is the Department of Defense designation for reconnaissance aircraft.

began work on what would become the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems RQ-1 Predator. Meanwhile, advances in UAV technology made the SR-71 redundant, so the USAF decided to retire it in 1989 ...

With their strange silhouettes and awe-inspiring capabilities, today's UAVs, like this Predator ... Germany's innovative V-1 demonstrated the formidable threat a UAV could pose in combat.