Editing General Atomics MQ-1 Predator (section)

===Armed versions===
[[File:AGM-114 Hellfire hung on a Predator drone.JPEG|thumb|Close-up of the [[AGM-114 Hellfire|Hellfire]] missile [[Weapons pylon|pylon]], 2004.]]

The USAF [[Big Safari|BIG SAFARI program office]] managed the Predator program and was directed on 21 June 2000 to explore armament options. This led to reinforced wings with munitions storage [[Weapons pylon|pylons]], as well as a [[laser designator]]. The RQ-1 conducted its first firing of a [[AGM-114 Hellfire|Hellfire]] [[anti-tank missile]] on 16 February 2001 over a bombing range near [[Creech Air Force Base|Indian Springs Air Force Station]] north of [[Las Vegas, Nevada]], with an inert AGM-114C successfully striking a tank target. Then on 21 February 2001 the Predator fired three Hellfire missiles, scoring hits on a stationary tank with all three missiles. Following the February tests, phase two involved more complex tests to hunt for simulated moving targets from greater altitudes with the more advanced AGM-114K version. The armed Predators were put into service with the designation MQ-1A. The Predator gives little warning of attack because it is relatively quiet and the Hellfire is supersonic, so it strikes before it is heard by the target.<ref name="vector" /><ref name="Predator missile launch test totally successful" /><ref>{{cite web | url = http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/the-q-1-predator-became-a-history-changing-deadly-missi-1760408544 | title = The Q-1 Predator Became A History-Changing Deadly Missile Slinger 15 Years Ago Today | work = Foxtrotalpha | publisher = Jalopnik | date = 21 February 2016 }}</ref>

In the winter of 2000–2001, after seeing the results of Predator reconnaissance in Afghanistan, [[Cofer Black]], head of the CIA's [[Counterterrorist Center]] (CTC), became a vocal advocate of arming the Predator with missiles to target [[Osama bin Laden]] in country. He believed that CIA pressure and practical interest were causing the USAF's armed Predator program to be significantly accelerated. Black, and "Richard", who was in charge of the CTC's [[Bin Laden Issue Station]], continued to press during 2001 for a Predator armed with Hellfire missiles.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}}

Further weapons tests occurred between 22 May and 7 June 2001, with mixed results. While missile accuracy was excellent, there were some problems with missile fuzing. In the first week of June, in the Nevada desert, a Hellfire missile was successfully launched on a replica of bin Laden's Afghanistan [[Tarnak Farms|Tarnak]] residence. A missile launched from a Predator exploded inside one of the replica's rooms; it was concluded that any people in the room would have been killed. However, the armed Predator was not deployed before the [[September 11 attacks]]. 
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The USAF also investigated using the Predator to drop battlefield ground sensors and to carry and deploy the [[Miniature UAVs#NRL "Dragon Eye", "Swallow" and "Finder"|"Finder"]] [[Miniature UAV|mini-UAV]].<ref name="vector" />