The U.S. Air Force will begin inactivating its fleet of General Atomics MQ-1 Predator aerial drones in 2018.

This ubiquitous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been in service with the air force since 1995. It will be replaced in the many roles it currently performs by the more versatile and more heavily armed General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper aerial drone.

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During its service, the MQ-1 first performed intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) missions for the air force, and later became an aerial assassin armed with four AGM-114 Hellfire missiles that took out Al Qaeda and ISIL militants, among others.

"Right now the plan is to stop flying the MQ-1 in 2018, and that means we need to get transitioned this year," said the air force in a statement.

The MQ-1 Predator is a remotely piloted aircraft system capable of 24-hour missions. The aircraft can loft a 204 kg payload; has a flight ceiling of 7,600 meters and can reach cruising speeds of 135 km/h.

On the other hand, the MQ-9 Reaper has a 1,700 kg payload capacity; a flight ceiling of 15,000 meters and a cruising speed of 370 km/h. The air force also said the more modern MQ-9 is better equipped, and has superior operational capabilities overall.

Since its first flight in July 1994, the MQ-1 series has accumulated over 1,000,000 flight hours. Together, the Reaper and the Predator remotely piloted aircraft reached 2,000,000 flight hours in October 2013.

The first overseas combat deployment for the Predator took place in the Balkans and lasted from July to November 1995 under the name Nomad Vigil.

Since that time, the Predator has seen combat in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the NATO intervention in Bosnia, Serbia, the Iraq War, Yemen, the Libyan civil war, the intervention in Syria and the intervention in Somalia.

The air force took delivery of its last MQ-1 Predator in March 2011.  

TagsU.S. Air Force, General Atomics MQ-1 Predator, unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV, AGM-114 Hellfire missiles t, MQ-9 reaper