A reported surge of MQ-9 Reaper drones to Latin America could widen the scope of intelligence gathering and free up more strike options against cartels in the region, experts tell Air & Space Forces Magazine.
MQ-9 Reaper
The Air Force plans to field at least 500 semi-autonomous fighter drones known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft by 2032, and another 500 cheap reconnaissance and strike drones known as Massed Modular Aircraft that same year, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said Sept. 14.
The Air Force is accelerating its plans to field an MQ-9A replacement in the wake of heavy Reaper losses in operations against Iran, top officials said Sept. 3, and they’re targeting a price point of just $10 million per aircraft.
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.
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.
General Atomics plans to pitch a brand new design for a low-cost, attritable drone to take on missions now carried out by its MQ-9 Reaper.
The Pentagon is looking for industry’s ideas for lower-cost, attritable drones that can fly in groups and take on some of the missions that MQ-9A Reapers have performed.
Gallery of Weapons
U.S. Special Operations Command is shifting its aviation plans to favor more drone swarms and fewer militarized crop-dusters, according to its fiscal 2027 budget request.
The U.S. military conducted its second deadly strike on an alleged drug-carrying vessel off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump announced Sept. 15, as his administration continues an aggressive military campaign in the Caribbean.
An MQ-9 Reaper drone plunged into the Mediterranean Sea last winter after its propeller suddenly disconnected from the engine, a recently released Air Force investigation concluded.