{"id":32592012,"date":"2026-11-13T10:35:19","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T09:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/mq-9-reaper-remote-split-operations-launch-recovery-element-creech-satellite-latency\/"},"modified":"2026-11-13T10:35:33","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T09:35:33","slug":"mq-9-reaper-remote-split-operations-launch-recovery-element-creech-satellite-latency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/mq-9-reaper-remote-split-operations-launch-recovery-element-creech-satellite-latency\/","title":{"rendered":"MQ-9 Reaper Remote Split Operations: Flying a Drone From Nevada"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\r\n\r\n<style>\r\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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The aircraft is thousands of miles away, circling over a different continent at 20,000 feet. When the pilot moves the stick, the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/mq-9-reaper\/\">MQ-9 Reaper<\/a> answers, but only after the command has made a trip into space and back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>This is remote split operations, the system that has let the US Air Force fly Reapers over Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond from bases in the United States. It splits every mission in two: one crew close to the runway to launch and land the aircraft, and another, often half a world away, to fly the mission itself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Here is how that split works, why it was needed, and why the Air Force has spent the last few years tearing half of it down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 26px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Crew:<\/strong> Pilot and sensor operator, plus a mission intelligence coordinator when needed<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Launch and recovery element (LRE):<\/strong> Local crew at the forward airfield; takeoff and landing over a line-of-sight C-band link<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Mission control element (MCE):<\/strong> Remote crew, largely at Creech AFB, Nevada; flies the mission via satellite<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Reported command delay:<\/strong> About 1.2 seconds via satellite<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Satellite landings:<\/strong> ATLC proven July 2021 under satellite control<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Last C-band LRE sorties:<\/strong> 22 May 2025, 11th Attack Squadron, Creech AFB<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Next step:<\/strong> Low Earth orbit satellite links tested in December 2022 to cut latency<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Two crews, one aircraft<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>According to the US Air Force fact sheet, a complete MQ-9 system is more than an aircraft. It includes several Reapers with their sensors and weapons, a ground control station, a satellite link, spare equipment and the crews to run round-the-clock missions. The basic crew is two people: a rated pilot who flies the aircraft and commands the mission, and an enlisted sensor operator who works the cameras and guides weapons, with a mission intelligence coordinator added when needed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The ground control station is their cockpit: a stick and throttle, a bank of screens showing video, maps and aircraft data, and no windows. Under remote split operations there are two kinds of crew. The launch and recovery element, or LRE, sits at the forward airfield where the Reapers are based. The mission control element, or MCE, can be anywhere with the right satellite connection, which for many US Air Force crews has meant Creech Air Force Base in Nevada.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/11\/raf-39-squadron-reaper-pilot-ground-control-station-creech.jpg\" alt=\"Royal Air Force No. 39 Squadron pilot flying an MQ-9 Reaper from a ground control station at Creech Air Force Base, with screens and a control stick\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A pilot of the RAF&rsquo;s No. 39 Squadron flies a Reaper from a ground control station at Creech Air Force Base in 2009. The same stations flew missions over Afghanistan via satellite. Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:39_Squadron_Reaper_Pilot_at_Creech_Air_Force_Base_MOD_45150446.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SAC Andrew Morris, UK Ministry of Defence \/ Wikimedia Commons, Open Government Licence v1.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The LRE controls the aircraft on the ground and during takeoff and landing over a direct, line-of-sight radio link, the C-band link in Air Force parlance. Once the Reaper is safely airborne, control is handed over to the MCE, which takes it through the satellite link for the long hours of surveillance or strike work. At the end of the mission the process runs in reverse.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;An alternate method of employment, Remote Split Operations, employs a GCS for takeoff and landing operations at the forward operating location, while the CONUS-based crew executes the mission via beyond-line-of-sight links.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>U.S. Air Force<\/strong> &mdash; MQ-9 Reaper fact sheet, 2010<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The 1.2-second problem<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Why not simply fly the whole sortie by satellite? Because of distance. The Reaper&rsquo;s long-range link runs through satellites in geostationary orbit, about 35,800 km above the equator. A signal travelling up to such a satellite and back down to the aircraft covers more than 70,000 km, and even at the speed of light that takes roughly a quarter of a second.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In practice the path is longer than a single hop: a command from a crew in the United States first has to reach a ground station that can see the right satellite, and every piece of equipment along the way adds its own delay. The figure widely reported for the Reaper is about 1.2 seconds for an operator&rsquo;s command to reach the aircraft, and the video coming back is delayed as well. The pilot is always looking at the recent past.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/11\/mq-9-reaper-gbu-38-kandahar-2018.jpg\" alt=\"Head-on view of an MQ-9 Reaper armed with GBU-38 JDAM bombs on the flight line at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, with mountains behind\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">An MQ-9 of the 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron at Kandahar Airfield in February 2018. Forward bases like this hosted the launch and recovery crews, while most of the mission was flown from the United States. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Paul Labbe \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:An_MQ-9_Reaper_armed_with_four_GBU-38_JDAM_was_piloted_for_a_mission_on_Kandahar_Airfield,_Afghanistan_in_February_2018_-_1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wikimedia Commons, public domain<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>At 20,000 feet, a delay of more than a second is something crews learn to fly around. In the last seconds before touchdown, when a pilot is judging the flare and correcting for gusts, it is a much bigger problem. That is why, for most of the Reaper&rsquo;s career, takeoffs and landings stayed with a local crew on a direct link, and the fact sheet still notes that the aircraft needs clear line of sight to a ground data terminal antenna for takeoff and landing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fp3IN8dIzl0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">The 174th Attack Wing&rsquo;s own look at the job of an MQ-9 launch and recovery element.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why split the mission at all?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The payoff is in people. Only the small launch and recovery team, plus maintainers, has to deploy. The bulk of the aircrew stays at home and flies combat missions in shifts, and a single stateside base can control aircraft operating from several forward airfields. The Air Force describes it as fewer people forward and simpler command and control and logistics.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The concept was proven early. In January 2009, airmen of the 432nd Wing flew a Reaper over the Fort Irwin training ranges in California with control split between <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-bases\/holloman\/\">Holloman Air Force Base<\/a> in New Mexico and Creech. As one commander pointed out, crews were already doing the same thing for real over Iraq and Afghanistan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;RSO is not a new concept. All of the aircraft flying in Afghanistan and Iraq are using the same process, albeit over a much longer range.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Lt. Col. James Merchant<\/strong> &mdash; Commander, Det. 1, 432nd Operations Group, Holloman AFB, after the January 2009 RSO test (via Shephard)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Allies adopted the same model. The <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/united-kingdom-royal-air-force\/\">Royal Air Force<\/a> first flew its Reapers over Afghanistan from Creech with No. 39 Squadron, before later moving operations to RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/11\/mq-9-reaper-last-c-band-lre-sorties-creech-2025.jpg\" alt=\"MQ-9 Reaper on the runway during a touch-and-go at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, with desert mountains behind\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">An MQ-9 of the 11th Attack Squadron during a touch-and-go at Creech AFB on 22 May 2025, among the last Reaper sorties flown with manual launch and recovery. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Ariel O&rsquo;Shea \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvidshub.net\/image\/9408034\/11th-attack-squadron-performs-last-lre-sorties\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DVIDS, public domain<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Landing by satellite<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The weak point of the split was always the forward team. Every airfield where a Reaper might land needed its own LRE crew, ground control station and antennas. In July 2021, the 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron showed that the Reaper&rsquo;s Automatic Takeoff and Landing Capability, ATLC, could remove that need. Under satellite control from crews at <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-bases\/nellis\/\">Nellis Air Force Base<\/a>, a Reaper took off from Creech, flew to Cannon AFB in New Mexico, landed, took off again and returned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>With ATLC the aircraft flies the takeoff and landing itself, while the remote crew monitors it for safety. In 2023, Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine reported that a deployment that once needed about 55 maintainers, ground control stations and ground data terminals could be done with about 10 airmen and a pallet and a half of equipment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s this monumental change in mindset, that I don&rsquo;t need to pack all this stuff up and go.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Lt. Col. Michael Chmielewski<\/strong> &mdash; Commander, 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron (via Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The old way is now being retired. On 22 May 2025, crews of Creech&rsquo;s 11th Attack Squadron flew the unit&rsquo;s last C-band launch and recovery sorties, a day of touch-and-goes by pilots who had spent their careers learning to land the Reaper by hand. On 13 October 2025 the squadron, until then a launch and recovery training unit, flew in combat for the first time, handling every phase of the mission over satellite links.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;Our squadron was solely dedicated to teaching people how to take off and land an aircraft manually, and our mission was limited to start, taxi, take off, get airborne and hand over to another squadron.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Lt. Col. Douglas Kottraba<\/strong> &mdash; Director of operations, 11th Attack Squadron, 2025 (via DVIDS)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Shrinking the delay<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The next step is attacking the latency itself. In December 2022, General Atomics and the Air National Guard flight-tested an MQ-9A with a satellite command-and-control link through low Earth orbit, much closer to the ground than geostationary satellites. The company says early testing showed significantly lower latency and that the link could be used in all phases of flight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZjDMcAPrfJs\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">The US Air Force&rsquo;s recruiting profile of the remotely piloted aircraft pilot career.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Remote split operations turned the Reaper into a global aircraft flown from a handful of bases. Its own success, plus automation and faster satellites, is now making the split unnecessary. The pilot in the Nevada desert stays. The crew at the end of the runway is the part that is going away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper fact sheets, DVIDS (432nd Wing, 11th Attack Squadron), Air Force News Service, Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine, Shephard Media, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Fox News<\/em><\/p>\r\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\r\n\r\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n<p class=\"mf-photo-credits\" data-no-translation style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;font-style:italic;margin:6px 0 18px\">Header photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:MQ-9_Reaper_at_Kandahar_Airport_-_151206-F-CX842-127.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tech. Sgt. Robert Cloys, U.S. Air Force \/ Wikimedia Commons, public domain<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What are MQ-9 Reaper remote split operations?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Remote split operations divide an MQ-9 Reaper mission between two crews. A launch and recovery element at the forward airfield handles takeoff and landing over a line-of-sight link, then hands control to a mission control element, often at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, which flies the rest of the mission via satellite.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many people fly an MQ-9 Reaper?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The basic MQ-9 Reaper crew is two people in a ground control station: a rated pilot who flies the aircraft and commands the mission, and an enlisted sensor operator who works the cameras and guides weapons. A mission intelligence coordinator can be added when the mission requires it.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How long is the satellite delay when flying an MQ-9 Reaper?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The widely reported figure is about 1.2 seconds for an operator&rsquo;s command to reach an MQ-9 Reaper via satellite. Signals travel to geostationary satellites about 35,800 km above the equator and back, and also pass through ground stations and other equipment, so the returning video is delayed too.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why did the MQ-9 Reaper need a local crew for takeoff and landing?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Takeoff and landing need quick, precise control, and the satellite delay of over a second makes that hard. So for most of its career, the MQ-9 was launched and landed by a local crew over a direct line-of-sight link, with control handed to remote crews once airborne.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Can an MQ-9 Reaper take off and land by satellite?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes. The MQ-9&rsquo;s Automatic Takeoff and Landing Capability was proven under satellite control in July 2021. Creech&rsquo;s 11th Attack Squadron flew its last manual C-band launch and recovery sorties on 22 May 2025 and entered combat in October 2025 flying every phase of the mission via satellite.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What are MQ-9 Reaper remote split operations?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Remote split operations divide an MQ-9 Reaper mission between two crews. 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Creech\u2019s 11th Attack Squadron flew its last manual C-band launch and recovery sorties on 22 May 2025 and entered combat in October 2025 flying every phase of the mission via satellite.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/mq-9-reaper-radar-detection-why-large-drones-are-easy-targets\/\">MQ-9 Reaper vs Radar: Why Big Drones Are Easy to Find<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/agile-combat-employment-ace-explained-dispersed-air-bases\/\">Agile Combat Employment Explained: Why Air Forces Scatter Their Jets<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/massed-modular-aircraft-mma-operational-prototypes-2028-meink-ausa\/\">Massed Modular Aircraft: USAF&#8217;s Reaper Successor to Fly by 2028<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<!--mfcred1-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How an MQ-9 Reaper is flown from the other side of the world: remote split operations, launch and recovery crews, mission control at Creech and the satellite delay.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":32591822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[665,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32592012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-world","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>MQ-9 Reaper Remote Split Operations Explained | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"MQ-9 Reaper remote split operations explained: launch and recovery crews, mission control at 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