US Stations MQ-9A Reaper Drone in Philippines to Aid in Maritime Patrols

The US Marine Corps has deployed an MQ-9A Reaper to the Philippines to help the country monitor rising Chinese activity in the West Philippine Sea.

The aircraft is being operated by the Arizona-based Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 at Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga, which serves as one of several Philippine sites where American forces have rotational access under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

The MQ-9A Reaper is a long-endurance surveillance drone able to stay airborne for more than 27 hours and collect real-time video and radar data across wide areas at sea.

Models deployed to the Philippines were verified as unarmed and dedicated to reconnaissance only, according to local Filipino media.

Washington did not disclose how many aircraft were sent, saying only that the temporary rotation is meant to give Manila more consistent visibility over contested waters where Chinese ships routinely shadow Philippine Coast Guard and resupply missions.

“At the request of the Philippine government, Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron VMU 1 is temporarily deployed to the Philippines to support Philippine regional maritime security through shared maritime domain awareness,” Defense News quoted a US Marine Corps Forces Pacific spokesperson as saying.

“The temporary stationing of unarmed MQ-9As to the Philippines demonstrates mutual commitment to improving the collective maritime security and supports our common goal for a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

The MQ-9A deployment follows the launch of Task Force Philippines, a 60-person US-Philippine coordination unit created to strengthen joint responses to “China’s coercive actions in the West Philippine Sea and the larger South China Sea.”