PREDATOR SPY PLANE REACHES MILESTONE IN FLIGHT HOURS NEXT GENERATION OF UNMANNED CRAFT CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT.

Byline: Daily News

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' RQ-1A Predator unmanned spy plane has reached 50,000 flight hours, the Air Force said.

The plane, which carries radar and infrared sensors and is controlled by operators on the ground, hit the milestone during what the Air Force described only as ``an operational sortie from a deployed location.''

``This is a significant program achievement,'' said Bill Grimes, director of the Big Safari Program. ``Predator gives the combatant commander 'eyes on' targeting and dramatically shortens the kill chain.''

Predator was the first Department of Defense advanced concept technology demonstration UAV to transition directly to active military service before achieving initial operational capability, according to Lt. Col. Kevin Hoffmann, Predator program manager.

Conceived from new operational requirements generated by Operation Desert Storm, Predator combined all the ideal war-fighting elements into one neat package, Hoffmann said. The craft is manufactured in San Diego and flight tested at Black Butte Airfield near Lake Los Angeles.

It had to fly as high as 25,000 feet to avoid shoulder-fired missiles, travel 500 nautical miles to the target area and return and cover mobile targets from 15,000 feet away for at least 24 hours, Hoffmann said.

Since its first test flight in July 1994, Predator has been involved in both nonoperational and combat missions, Hoffmann said.

From 1995 to 1996, Predator supported joint-force military exercises involving counternarcotics surveillance, theater missile defense, coastal warfare and offshore naval operations.

The Predator has gotten improvements over the years, Hoffmann said.

One is the ability to pipe video from a Predator directly into an AC-130 gunship.

``We're now gearing up to produce the next generation, Predator B (MQ-9), initially equipped with Hellfire missiles and Multi-Spectral Targeting System, for its newest support role: hunter-killer,'' Hoffmann said.