AL DHAFRA AIR BASE, United Arab Emirates -- Four General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drones were loaded onto a Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy assigned to the 22nd Airlift Squadron, August 10, 2022, at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. Since June, the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing has redeployed five Reaper drones back to the United States in exchange for nine replacements.
MQ-9s stationed at ADAB are assigned to the 62nd Expeditionary Attack Squadron which operates under the callsign Valkyrie. Their mission is to employ, launch and recover MQ-9 Reapers for persistent attack and reconnaissance within the Southwest Asia area of responsibility. Although the 62nd EATKS is stationed at ADAB, it is a provisional unit attached to the 432nd Air Expeditionary Operations Group, stationed at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. ADAB is the United States’ largest MQ-9 forward operating location.