Twenty thousand feet above Afghanistan, a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper prowls the skies, its tip-to-tip wingspan stretching 66 feet. It's early 2021, before the U.S. withdrawal, and the aircraft is on an armed Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission. It's also carrying a payload of up to eight AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, weapons so accurate that the CIA sometimes swaps their explosives with blades to target specific seats in moving cars.
The Reaper takes its cues from two people: a pilot at the aircraft's controls, and an enlisted sensor operator controlling the MTS-B targeting pod. Both personnel are more than 7,000 miles away, at Whiteman Air Force Base in Johnson County, Missouri. The aircraft has been aloft for more than 15 hours, but its pilot, Captain Dennis (surname redacted due to operational security concerns) is just beginning his shift at the controls. It takes 1.2 seconds for the captain's commands to reach the Reaper, and the aircraft returns high-definition video on a screen in front of his control panel. Just five minutes after the captain takes over the aircraft, he receives a "Troops in Contact" notification: Friendly troops are under fire by the enemy.
 Twenty thousand feet above Afghanistan, a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper prowls the skies, its tip-to-tip wingspan stretching 66 feet. It's early 2021, before the U.S. withdrawal, and the aircraft is on an armed Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission. It's also carrying a payload of up to eight AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, weapons so accurate that the CIA sometimes swaps their explosives with blades to target specific seats in moving cars.
The Reaper takes its cues from two people: a pilot at the aircraft's controls, and an enlisted sensor operator controlling the MTS-B targeting pod. Both personnel are more than 7,000 miles away, at Whiteman Air Force Base in Johnson County, Missouri. The aircraft has been aloft for more than 15 hours, but its pilot, Captain Dennis (surname redacted due to operational security concerns) is just beginning his shift at the controls. It takes 1.2 seconds for the captain's commands to reach the Reaper, and the aircraft returns high-definition video on a screen in front of his control panel. Just five minutes after the captain takes over the aircraft, he receives a "Troops in Contact" notification: Friendly troops are under fire by the enemy. Supply chain issues and rising prices mean you'd better get your fake tree ASAP A standalone VR headset that allows you to jump into room-scale VR experiences within seconds Bigger and more capable than ever, carriers are also more expensive and vulnerable. Cuddle up on the sofa in front of a warm fire while binge-watching to your heart's content. It's all yours! Well, if you have $9 million laying around. Look after your tires and they'll look after you. Great games aren't just for the big screen. We break down the best handheld consoles for gamers on the go, featuring heavy hitters like Nintendo and Apple in the spotlight. |
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