US Air Force rejects report it risks wasting US$8b on drones

Washington

THE US Air Force says the Pentagon's inspector-general got the numbers wrong in asserting that the service risks wasting US$8.8 billion on MQ-9 Reaper drones.

The watchdog agency said in a Sept 30 report that the service may spend that much "to purchase, operate and maintain 46" drones it doesn't need, for a fleet totalling 401. Now the Air Force has responded, saying it plans to buy only 346 of the General Atomics pilotless planes. The inspector general, it said, used outdated information.