An Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle crashed about 10 p.m. EST on March 26 in the vicinity of Balad, Iraq.

The aircraft was assigned to the 15th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. It was in the U.S. Central Command area of operations supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

A board of officers will investigate the accident.

MQ-1 Predator Data

Initially fielded as the RQ-1, an advanced concept technology demonstrator, the Predator was first used in the Balkan theater in the mid-1990s. The change in designation from "R" (reconnaissance) to "M" (multi-role) occurred in 2002. The "Q" is the Department of Defense designation for unmanned aircraft system. The "1" refers to the aircraft being the first of a series of purpose-built unmanned reconnaissance aircraft systems.

The Predator system was designed in response to a Department of Defense requirement to provide persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information to the warfighter.

In April 1996, the secretary of defense selected the U.S. Air Force as the operating service for the Predator system. Operating responsibility is at the 11th, 15th and 17th Reconnaissance Squadrons, Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field, Nev.

FMI: www.acc.af.mil