General Atomics Aeronautical Systems predicts the new drone it plans to pitch for the military’s “Massed Modular Aircraft” program will exceed many of the military’s requirements for a successor to the MQ-9 Reaper.
Wildfire, as General Atomics has dubbed it, “meets every wish on the [MMA] list and exceeds most of them,” company spokesman C. Mark Brinkley said in a statement, though he declined to specify the drone’s expected capabilities or cost. Aviation Week first reported the company’s plans for Wildfire.
MMA is intended to be a low-cost, attritable drone that could fly in groups if needed and take on some missions now performed by the MQ-9 Reaper, which was also made by General Atomics. The Defense Innovation Unit released a solicitation July 7 asking companies to submit ideas for the new drone concept, which is meant “to execute missions that the MQ-9A performs today.”
The Air Force is partnering with DIU on the MMA effort, which it said “will directly inform the requirements for the MQ-9’s successor.”
DIU’s solicitation called for drones to be able to carry a payload of at least 2,800 pounds—roughly the weight of one Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile, or LRASM—and have an unrefueled combat radius of at least 2,300 nautical miles, while carrying a payload, as well as being able to fly a one-way ferrying flight of at least 8,000 nautical miles.
The Pentagon wants MMA drones to be able to launch weapons, collect intelligence, conduct electronic warfare, or relay communications while staying airborne for long periods. DIU said that is intended to exhaust an enemy and force them to burn through pricey anti-aircraft missiles and other resources.
While General Atomics did not detail what Wildfire—a medium-altitude long endurance drone—will be able to do, Brinkley’s statement hinted at some of the goals the company set out to achieve.
“How do we come out of the box, day one, with a 10,000 nautical mile ferry range?” Brinkley said. “Can we carry four LRASMs? Can we swarm 100 aircraft under semi-autonomous control? Can we fuse all of that data into a highly effective common operating picture? Can we do that at scalable, affordable mass?”
The Air Force has lost dozens of MQ-9 drones since operations against Iran launched in late February. The Washington Post reported earlier in August that about 45 Reapers have been lost, in some cases shot down, during Operation Epic Fury.
In its original solicitation, DIU said that with adversaries increasingly using low-cost antiaircraft capabilities to create layered defenses, the military won’t be able to rely on “exquisite” aircraft with price tags north of $30 million. For that reason, DIU and the Air Force said, the military needs drone capabilities that can weather some losses while still being able to accomplish their missions.
The Air Force and DIU want these new drones to be modular so they can be quickly updated with payloads like full-motion video sensors, so an MMA could carry out some of the MQ-9’s current missions. An Air Force official told reporters earlier in August that the service wants to start awarding contracts by the end of this year.
DIU also wants contractors to be able to flight test a full-scale prototype 21 months after receiving the award and to be able to deliver 20 mission-ready aircraft by fiscal 2031.
Brinkley said General Atomics “can deliver Wildfires years earlier than the current schedule.”
However, Brinkley said, the military has an “immediate, critical ISR gap” that Wildfire would not be able to fill in the short term. General Atomics has options that could serve as an interim bridge, he said, and the company is now discussing those with Pentagon decision-makers.
General Atomics did not reveal any imagery or concept art for Wildfire.