Air Force wasted $17M on unneeded, never-delivered weather sensors for Reaper drone, IG finds
Stephen Losey
Over an seven-year period, the Air Force paid $17.7 million to a company to improve the MQ-9 Reaper’s ability to measure weather data, which it thought could have helped it track how fast ice is building up on its wings in-flight and avoid crashes.
Except no such weather support capabilities were ever delivered, according to a Defense Department inspector general report released Friday — or even needed. And the money — which came from overseas contingency operations funding and not through the usual appropriations process — was wasted.
The Air Force thought such weather-tracking capability would have helped the Reaper and its predecessor, the now-retired MQ-1 Predator, operate in ice and extreme wind, the IG said in its report, “Evaluation of Weather Support Capabilities for the MQ-9 Reaper.â€
https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2020/02/07/air-force-wasted-17m-on-unneeded-never-delivered-weather-sensors-for-reaper-drone-ig-finds/
