The silhouette of an MQ-9 Reaper drone in the sky, circa 2025. The MQ-9 has proven vulnerable to ground fire in the ongoing war against Iran, leading the Defense Innovation Unit to seek lower-cost alternatives. (Shutterstock/isoprotonic)

Why the US Air Force Wants a Replacement for the MQ-9 Reaper

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MQ-9 losses in the Middle East have raised the issue of the drone’s steep price tag—and led the US Air Force to seek out a cheaper mass-produced alternative.

For nearly two decades, the MQ-9 Reaper has been synonymous with US drone warfare, conducting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and precision strike missions through America’s persistent Middle Eastern campaigns. But as Operation Epic Fury has shown, modern air defenses are changing the economics of unmanned warfare in ways that make the Reaper increasingly vulnerable. Indeed, the US Air Force lost roughly 30 of the drone aircraft during its campaign against Iran—a costly setback, given the drone’s sticker price of around $30 million apiece.

Faced with increasingly sophisticated air defenses, the Air Force is looking for a different model that relies on inexpensive mass.........

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