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Robot model

MQ-9 Reaper

aerialproductionby General Atomics Aeronautical Systems

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the privately held San Diego incumbent behind the Predator lineage, makes the MQ-9 Reaper, the canonical legacy…

Track MQ-9 Reaper
Manufacturer
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
Form factor
aerial
Maturity
production
Lifecycle
active
Deployments
4

The verified answer

As of Sep 2026, DEPLOY verifies MQ-9 Reaper, a aerial by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (production): 4 verified deployments on record. 4 sources back the record.

Appears inMilitary & defense drones

Overview

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the privately held San Diego incumbent behind the Predator lineage, makes the MQ-9 Reaper, the canonical legacy medium-altitude long-endurance remotely-piloted aircraft against which the AI-first new-defense wave is contrasted. The MQ-9A first flew on February 2, 2001 and entered service in May 2007; it is flown by a crew of a pilot, a sensor operator, and a mission-intelligence coordinator at a ground control station, with roughly thirty hours of ISR endurance, a 3,800-pound payload, and Hellfire missiles and laser- and GPS-guided bombs.

As of 2026 some 575 have been built, with the US Air Force operating about 158 active plus 24 Air National Guard aircraft at the end of fiscal 2025 and the Marine Corps receiving its final MQ-9A in June 2025, alongside operators including the UK, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Critically and honestly, the Reaper is remotely piloted, not autonomous: humans retain flight control and all weapons decisions, with automatic takeoff, landing, and threat-tracking as assistance features, and the newer Quadratix software introduced in March 2025 adds AI and autonomy for single-operator multi-sensor ISR on the MQ-9B but remains operator-controlled rather than an autonomous kill chain, so the word drone should not imply AI-autonomy here.

A lifecycle nuance worth recording: the MQ-9A production line closed in 2025 after the Air Force declined further buys, while the longer-endurance MQ-9B SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian, operated by the UK as Protector RG Mk1 and contracted to Taiwan and Germany, are the active in-production successor, so this single record spans a mature, sunsetting platform and its in-production replacement.

Verified vs. claimed

Maturity stage
production(Full-scale production deployment with repeat customers.)
Sources on file
View all sources →

Key facts

Payload

3,800 lb

Runtime

~30 hr ISR / ~23 hr armed

Autonomy level

Remotely piloted, not autonomous

Production target

575 built as of 2026

Specs

Notes

Verified (legacy prime contrast): General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI; private, San Diego/Poway CA) is the incumbent MALE remotely-piloted-aircraft prime (Predator lineage). MQ-9A: 575 built as of 2026; USAF ~158 active + 24 ANG (end FY2025); operators incl. UK, Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium. USMC received its final MQ-9A Block 5 ER Jun 2025. The canonical legacy contrast to the AI-first new-defense wave (Anduril/Helsing/Shield AI)., AI-substance: REMOTELY-PILOTED, NOT autonomous (honest): Humans retain flight control and ALL weapons-employment decisions. Auto takeoff/landing + threat detection/tracking are assistance features, not autonomy. The newer Quadratix software (Mar 2025) adds AI/ML/autonomy/data-fusion for single-operator multi-sensor ISR on MQ-9B - AI-ASSISTED ISR, not an autonomous kill chain. Do not let 'drone' imply AI-autonomy here., Lifecycle nuance: The MQ-9A production line CLOSED in 2025 after USAF confirmed no further buys (GA-ASI: fewer than 10 MQ-9As left to sell); MQ-9B is the active in-production successor (UK Protector, Taiwan SkyGuardian due 2026, Germany SeaGuardian buy reported Jan 2026). One Company record spans a mature-but-sunsetting platform + its in-production replacement. lifecycleState=active., Claimed but NOT verified: Exact GA-ASI revenue/headcount/ownership %; MQ-9B AEW&C + long-range standoff-munition (JASSM/LRASM/JSM) integration (announced/planned 2026, not yet demonstrated); Taiwan/Germany MQ-9B deliveries (contracted, pending 2026).

Specs

MQ-9A Reaper: MALE remotely-piloted aircraft, first flight Feb 2 2001, in service May 2007; crew = pilot + sensor operator + mission intel coordinator at a ground control station; ~30 hr ISR / ~23 hr armed endurance, 3,800 lb payload, AGM-114 Hellfire + GBU-12/38. MQ-9B SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian: 40+ hr, civil-airspace integration; UK operates as Protector RG Mk1.

Form Factor

aerial (medium-altitude long-endurance REMOTELY-PILOTED aircraft; hunter-killer ISR/strike)

Data & sources

Press releases

1

Web sources

3

4 sources backing this record.View all →

Availability and pricing

Availability
Not sold (internal use)
Price
$20M to $32M (actual sale price)as of 2024-01-01
Units in field
Not disclosed
Sales model
Not disclosed
Lead time
Not disclosed

Pricing

One-time purchase

$20,000,000 - $32,000,000 USDactual sale priceas of 2024-01-01

Source: actual-sale-price pricing via af.mil (Depth sourcing 2026-07-08)

Price status: actual-sale-price = real published price at time of sale; manufacturer-target = vendor target, not yet realized; analyst-estimate = third-party projection, not a vendor figure; not-announced = no price on record.

Prices verified as of Jan 1, 2024

Deployments (4)

Free to use on your site, with a link back to DEPLOY.

Recent activity

Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.

Full change history →

Previous generations

The historical entries remain on the registry for reference; current coverage tracks this generation.

Manufacturer-attributed media (2)

Manufacturer-supplied media at the model level. Not tied to an independently verified named-site deployment. Verification posture is product-showcase from the maker, distinct from the deployment-verified evidence in the section above.

PRIMARY SOURCE
Courtesy of General Atomics

General Atomics Aeronautical footage of the MQ-9B SeaGuardian, a Reaper-family maritime ISR variant. A remotely-piloted aircraft (the maker's own term is 'RPA'), not autonomous.

Safety record

3 incidents on record (1 critical, 1 serious, 1 moderate). Most recent: Apr 2026.

critical
1
serious
1
moderate
1
other
2
malfunction
1

Most recent: Apr 2026

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Incidents affecting MQ-9 Reaper (3)

Includes incidents linked directly to this model or to deployments of it. Retracted incidents are excluded from this view but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Sources (4)

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Atomics_MQ-9_Reaper
  2. https://www.airandspaceforces.com/abrupt-end-to-mq-9-production-surprises-general-atomics/
  3. https://www.ga-asi.com/remotely-piloted-aircraft/mq-9b-skyguardian
  4. https://www.defenseadvancement.com/feature/quadratix-unified-software-ecosystem-from-general-atomics/

Compare MQ-9 Reaper

Common questions

What is MQ-9 Reaper?
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the privately held San Diego incumbent behind the Predator lineage, makes the MQ-9 Reaper, the canonical legacy medium-altitude long-endurance remotely-piloted aircraft against which the AI-first new-defense wave is contrasted. The MQ-9A first flew on February 2, 2001 and entered service in May 2007; it is flown by a crew of a pilot, a sensor operator, and a mission-intelligence coordinator at a ground control station, with roughly thirty hours of ISR endurance, a 3,800-pound payload, and Hellfire missiles and laser- and GPS-guided bombs. As of 2026 some 575 have been built, with the US Air Force operating about 158 active plus 24 Air National Guard aircraft at the end of fiscal 2025 and the Marine Corps receiving its final MQ-9A in June 2025, alongside operators including the UK, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Critically and honestly, the Reaper is remotely piloted, not autonomous: humans retain flight control and all weapons decisions, with automatic takeoff, landing, and threat-tracking as assistance features, and the newer Quadratix software introduced in March 2025 adds AI and autonomy for single-operator multi-sensor ISR on the MQ-9B but remains operator-controlled rather than an autonomous kill chain, so the word drone should not imply AI-autonomy here. A lifecycle nuance worth recording: the MQ-9A production line closed in 2025 after the Air Force declined further buys, while the longer-endurance MQ-9B SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian, operated by the UK as Protector RG Mk1 and contracted to Taiwan and Germany, are the active in-production successor, so this single record spans a mature, sunsetting platform and its in-production replacement.
How much does MQ-9 Reaper cost?
MQ-9 Reaper is listed at $20,000,000 to $32,000,000 on the DEPLOY registry. This is an actual sale price on record.
actual-sale-price pricing via af.mil (Depth sourcing 2026-07-08)
Is MQ-9 Reaper actually deployed in the real world?
Yes. MQ-9 Reaper is independently verified in real-world operation on the DEPLOY registry, confirmed at named deployment sites with primary sources: not a concept, render, or demo-only.
Who makes MQ-9 Reaper?
MQ-9 Reaper is made by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, based in Poway, California, USA, founded in 1993.
Where is MQ-9 Reaper deployed?
4 verified deployments of MQ-9 Reaper are on the DEPLOY registry, including at United States, Poway, Global.
Can you buy MQ-9 Reaper?
MQ-9 Reaper is available for purchase - a real sale price is on record (see the pricing section for the figure and its source).
What are alternatives to MQ-9 Reaper?
On the DEPLOY registry, comparable aerial robots to MQ-9 Reaper include Wing Delivery Aircraft, Skydio X10, Zipline Platform 2 (P2), Prime Air MK30.
How does MQ-9 Reaper compare to Wing Delivery Aircraft?
MQ-9 Reaper and Wing Delivery Aircraft (Wing · 35 deployments) are both aerial robots on the DEPLOY registry. MQ-9 Reaper has 4 verified deployments on record. Compare both records for specs, safety, deployments, and verified-vs-claimed autonomy.
Is MQ-9 Reaper a top aerial?
On DEPLOY's intelligence score, which blends verified deployments, safety, adoption, media, and IP signals, MQ-9 Reaper ranks in roughly the top 15% of aerial models tracked by the registry.
What is MQ-9 Reaper's maturity stage?
MQ-9 Reaper is at the production stage on the DEPLOY maturity ladder (research, prototype, pilot, commercial, production). Production stage means high-volume manufacture and commercial-scale deployments are sustained.
Is MQ-9 Reaper safe?
MQ-9 Reaper has 3 active incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. 3 incidents on record (1 critical, 1 serious, 1 moderate). Most recent: Apr 2026. Retracted incidents are excluded from this count.
Methodology: Verified · 4 sources (1 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-12

Verification posture

Verified

High confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-12

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: production

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: aerial

Sources by quality tier

2
unclassified
Unclassified source
1
knowledge-base
Knowledge base
1
primary-company-ir
Company IR disclosure

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for MQ-9 Reaper.

Recent coverage

MQ-9 Reaper in third-party press

Wildfire Is General Atomics’ Successor To The MQ-9 Reaper

Aug 20, 2026

U.S. Air Force plans cheaper MQ-9 Reaper successor after Iran combat use, targeting 2031 fielding and massed drone operations

Aug 17, 2026

Pentagon to explore cheaper replacements for the MQ-9 Reaper

Jul 8, 2026