The US Air Force announced on 24 February that the remotely piloted MQ-1 Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), which have been in service for 21 years, will be retired.

Commander of 20th Attack Squadron stated, “We are planning to separate MQ-1 completely from flight duties until 1 July 2017”.

The MQ-1 Predator will miss the task of taking over the MQ-9 Reaper UAVs. MQ-9s are preferred due to its high definition sensor, high payload capacity and increased speed.