The Air Force plans to field a new podded, wide-area sensor system called “Gorgon Stare” in 2010 for unmanned aerial vehicles and manned intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance platforms. Flight International reported Jan. 28 that Gorgon Stare will initially be integrated onto the MQ-9 Reaper UAV to provide a wide-area stare to support tactical operations. It will be added later to other unmanned and manned aircraft. Flight said one advantage of Gorgon Stare is that, compared to wide-area surveillance sensors already in combat, it will not be a closed-loop system that requires dedicated logistics and training. Instead, the new sensor is designed to be platform-agnostic and operate with the distributed common ground system that is used by intelligence specialists to analyze imagery.
Senators Want to Build Back MQ-9 Fleet by 2028
June 12, 2026
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach said the MQ-9 proved to be the “most valuable player” of Operation Epic Fury—so valuable, in fact, that a key congressional panel wants to require the Air Force to grow its fleet of Reaper drones in the next few years.