according to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. Armed versions The USAF 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 pylons, as well as a laser designator. The RQ-1 conducted its first firing of a Hellfire anti-tank missile on 16 February 2001 over a bombing range near 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. 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. 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 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. The USAF also investigated using the Predator to drop battlefield ground sensors and to carry and deploy the "Finder" mini-UAV. Other versions and fate Two unarmed versions, known as the General Atomics ALTUS were built, ALTUS I for the Naval Postgraduate School and ALTUS II for the NASA ERAST Project in 1997 and 1996, respectively. Based on the