Goodfellow Air Force Base in Tom Green County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

RQ-1K Predator

Dedicated 27 May 2009

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 9, 2014

1. RQ-1K Predator Marker

Inscription.

Span: 48.7 feet • Speed: 70-135 mph
Length: 27 feet • Ceiling: 25,000 feet
Cost: $1 million • Engine: Four-cylinder Rotax 914F

The aircraft on display is the RQ-1K Predator, SN 95-3013. It is a medium-altitude, long-endurance, first-generation unmanned aircraft system initially used for reconnaissance and surveillance. The RQ-1 entered the USAF inventory in 1994 and was deployed for the first time over Bosnia in 1995. In 2002, the Predator was armed with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, re-designated the MQ-1, and given interdiction and armed reconnaissance roles.

Goodfellow AFB graduates have exploited thousands of Predator sorties as crew members of the Air Force Distributed Common Ground System; and since Predator's inception, Goodfellow has trained imagery analysts to serve as Predator sensor operators. Goodfellow currently trains geospatial intelligence analysts, fusion analysts, cryptolinguists, and intelligence officers who play crucial roles in employing the Predator to find, fix, and destroy enemy forces.

This air vehicle - "Tail 13" - entered the [U.S.] Air Force inventory in 1997 and was deployed immediately to Bosnia. During Operation Allied Force in 1999, Tail 13 was deployed on a 'suicide' mission to locate Serbian surface-to-air missile systems. Early into the mission,

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the operators lost communications with the aircraft. Incredibly, Tail 13 returned to base 6 hours later and the operators were able to reacquire communication and land it. Among the operators on that mission was SrA Andrew Reindl, later assigned as an instructor in Goodfellow's Imagery Analysis course.

This aircraft is on loan from the National Museum of the United States Air Force

Erected 2009 by United States Air Force.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Communications • War, 2nd Iraq • War, Afghanistan. A significant historical year for this entry is 1994.

Location. 31° 25.651′ N, 100° 24.524′ W. Marker is in Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, in Tom Green County. Marker is at the intersection of Kearney Boulevard and Perimeter Road, on the right when traveling north on Kearney Boulevard. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Goodfellow AFB TX 76908, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. TB-25N Mitchell (approx. 0.2 miles away); Chaplain, Major General Robert Preston Taylor (approx. ¼ mile away); Charles B. Metcalfe (approx. 0.3 miles away); BT-13A Valiant (approx. 0.4 miles away); T-28A Trojan (approx. 0.4 miles away); EC-47 ARDF Operations in Southeast Asia

RQ-1K Predator image. Click for full size.

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 9, 2014

2. RQ-1K Predator

(approx. 0.4 miles away); Goodfellow Field (approx. 0.4 miles away); T-6G Texan (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Goodfellow Air Force Base.

More about this marker. Access is restricted since marker is on an active United States Air Force base.

Also see . . . General Atomics RQ/MQ-1 Predator. (Submitted on February 17, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 9, 2014

3. RQ-1K Predator

Credits. This page was last revised on September 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on February 17, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 557 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on February 17, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.