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.
Drone
The Air Force plans to select vendors by the end of 2026 to help develop concepts for cheap, attritable drones that could perform the MQ-9 Reaper mission—providing persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, as well as strike capabilities—in a new way.
The Air Force and General Atomics have successfully test-fired laser-guided Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System rockets using an MQ-9A Reaper drone.
The Pentagon’s counter-drone task force announced it would conduct a high-energy laser test with the Federal Aviation Administration less than a month after the use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border prompted the FAA to shut down the airspace over El Paso, ...
A recent Air Force contract to buy up to $50 million worth of small drones from Anduril Industries may soon allow the service’s special operations command to transform its MQ-9 Reapers into drone-launching motherships.
The Air Force has awarded General Atomics a $99.3 million contract for a stealthy, ultra-long-range surveillance aircraft design to be ready by 2028. The plane, nicknamed "GHOST," would also have a strike mission.
Amid an uptick in drone activity nationwide, the commander responsible for safeguarding North American airspace said U.S. Northern Command is acquiring new technology to swiftly deploy to bases around the country to counter these threats.
The U.S. conducted an airstrike in Musayib, Iraq, on July 30 against individuals who were preparing to launch one-way attack drones, a week after attacks launched toward U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, U.S. defense officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine. The region is ...
The U.S. conducted a drone strike in Iraq on Dec. 3, as the American troops there continue to be targeted by Iranian-backed militants. The strike took place near Kirkuk as the militants were preparing to attack U.S. troops in northern Iraq, a U.S. official told ...
After three straight days of harassment by Russian fighters, U.S. MQ-9s conducted an airstrike that killed an ISIS leader in Syria on July 7, U.S. Central Command and Air Forces Central said. The strike was conducted by the same MQ-9s that were confronted by Russian ...
Development of a new breed of unmanned aircraft is now underway, as three major defense companies earned contracts to start designing a future system known as “LongShot.” The LongShot program wants to create an unmanned weapons porter that can be shot from another plane before ...
The Defense Department is moving out with its first strategy to coordinate and plan for future threats posed by small drones at home and abroad. The Jan. 7 strategy comes after the military has contended with years-long proliferation of quadcopters and other cheap, widely available ...
