USAF Awards Contract Mod for Eight More MQ-9s

May 22, 2015

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

As the Air Force attempts to rebalance its remotely piloted aircraft force structure, it continues to buy more aircraft for the booming mission. On May 20, USAF announced a $72 million contract modification award to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for eight more MQ-9 Reaper Block 5 production aircraft. Work on the extension will be performed at the company’s facility in Poway, Calif., and will be complete by December 2017. The Block 5 variant, an upgrade from the original Block 1 “Predator B,” offers greater electrical power, more gross takeoff weight, enhanced communications and payload integration, and “trailing arm” main landing gear.

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Trending Stories

U-2 Fleet, Half of A-10s Would Retire; Air Force Plans to Add 108 Planes in ’27

Pentagon Zeroes Out E-7 in Budget, Leaving Its Future Uncertain

Space Force Seeks Bigger Operational Footprint With 4 New Ops Centers

White House Picks Raytheon Exec to Lead Space Force Acquisition

Related

Space Force Budget Cuts SDA’s Data Transport Funding

April 23, 2026
The new Space Force budget request omits funding for future tranches of the Space Development Agency’s data transport layer, teeing up a potential debate in Congress about the future of the organization and the service’s plan for managing both tactical and enterprise communication needs. 

Pentagon Zeroes Out E-7 in Budget, Leaving Its Future Uncertain

April 22, 2026
The Pentagon did not include any funding for the the E-7A Wedgetail in its 2027 budget request, setting up another round in its fight with Congress over the future of the Boeing-built successor to the E-3 Sentry Airborne Early Warning and Control jet.

Pass-Through and Classified Spending: What’s Hidden in the ’27 Budget

April 22, 2026
For 2027, so-called “pass through” accounts—money that funds other agencies and is never actually touched or used by the Air Force—will top $52.3 billion. That's 13.4 percent of the total department spending plan. But proportionally, that $52.3 billion accounts for a smaller share than in past years, when it has sometimes exceeded 20 percent.