Robot model
MQ-9 Reaper
Medium-altitude long-endurance armed UAV.
- Manufacturer
- General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
- Form factor
- aerial
- Maturity
- commercial
- Lifecycle
- superseded
- Deployments
- 12
The verified answer
As of Sep 2026, DEPLOY verifies MQ-9 Reaper, a aerial by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (commercial): 12 verified deployments on record. 2 sources back the record.
supersededSuperseded by MQ-9 Reaper. The historical entry remains for reference; current coverage tracks the successor.
Overview
Medium-altitude long-endurance armed UAV. 27-hour endurance, 3,800 lb payload, Hellfire missiles and precision bombs. Primary US armed drone for ISR and strike missions.
Verified vs. claimed
- Maturity stage
- commercial(Commercially deployed with revenue-generating operations.)
- Sources on file
- View all sources →
Key facts
Product
Autonomy
wikipedia
wikidata
CEO
President
Parent
Revenue
Employees
Specs
Endurance
Max speed
Weight kg
Payload kg
Flight time min
Data & sources
Government records
1
Web sources
1
2 sources backing this record.View all →
Pricing
No verified price is on record for MQ-9 Reaper. Physical-AI systems are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price.
Deployments (12)
- MQ-9 Reaper at Kunsan Air Base, South Koreaoperational
US Forces Korea permanently stationed MQ-9 Reaper squadron at Kunsan Air Base, activating the 431st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron on September 29, 2025.
- MQ-9 Reaper at Andersen AFB, Guamoperational
MQ-9 Reaper drones operated from Andersen Air Force Base Guam conducting ISR missions with 2,200+ hours of reconnaissance in the Pacific region.
- MQ-9 Reaper at Nigerended
US operated MQ-9 Reaper armed drones from Nigerien Air Base 201 in Agadez, a $110M facility with 6,200ft runway.
USMC VMUT-2 at MCAS Cherry Point became the first Marine Corps MQ-9A Reaper squadron to reach operational status in August 2023.
U.S.
- MQ-9 Reaper at 12th Air Base, Polandoperational
USAF deployed MQ-9 Reapers to 12th Air Base in Poland, 717th Expeditionary Attack Squadron.
- MQ-9 Reaper at 71st Air Base, Romaniaoperational
MQ-9 Reapers deployed by USAF to Romanian 71st Air Base, 731st Expeditionary Attack Squadron.
- MQ-9 Reaper at INS Rajali, Tamil Nadu, Indiaoperational
Indian Navy began operating two leased MQ-9B SeaGuardians from INS Rajali in November 2020 for surveillance amid border tensions with China.
- MQ-9 Reaper at Cognac Air Base, Franceoperational
French Air and Space Force operates 12 MQ-9A ERs since 2014, based at Cognac-Châteaubernard Air Base, 33rd Attack, Reconnaissance and Surveillance Wing.
UK RAF operated MQ-9 Reapers from RAF Waddington.
MQ-9 Reaper on the deployment map
View the global mapWhere MQ-9 Reaper is verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdJun 7, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedSep 29, 2025
at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedAug 8, 2023
at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJan 1, 2023
at Andersen AFB, Guam
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedAug 1, 2022
at 12th Air Base, Poland
Safety record
No incidents on record for MQ-9 Reaper.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Sources (2)
Common questions
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Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (1 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-15
Verification posture
Verified
High confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-07-15
Maturity + lifecycle
Maturity stage: commercial
Lifecycle: superseded
Architectural position
Cohort: aerial
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
- 1
- primary-government-record
- Government record
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
Attention vs reality over time
Media mentions per month (area) against verified deployment events (dots). A press spike over a flat deployment line is the hype gap, drawn over time.
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning MQ-9 Reaper from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
USAF Wants MQ-9 Reaper Successor At A Fraction Of The Cost At $10M Each
The USAF has aggressive cost and schedule goals for new drones to succeed the MQ-9 fleet that has suffered major losses. The post USAF Wants MQ-9 Reaper Successor At A Fraction Of…
Air Force moves to accelerate effort to replace MQ-9 Reaper after combat losses in Iran war
“We want to bring this thing forward because of the fact that, although we have plenty of MQ-9As today, we are going through them at a rate that is concerning to us,” Lt. Gen.…
Wildfire Is General Atomics’ Successor To The MQ-9 Reaper
The Wildfire concept has been entered into a new Pentagon competition to find a next generation of medium-altitude, long-endurance ISR and strike drone. The post Wildfire Is…
U.S. Air Force plans cheaper MQ-9 Reaper successor after Iran combat use, targeting 2031 fielding and massed drone operations
The U.S. Air Force is developing a successor to the General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper after the drone played a leading combat role during Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
Pentagon to explore cheaper replacements for the MQ-9 Reaper
The Massed Modular Aircraft project aims to develop a drone that can operate in such large numbers that it can absorb losses and still overwhelm defenses.
Pentagon to explore cheaper replacements for the MQ-9 Reaper
The Massed Modular Aircraft project aims to develop a drone that can operate in such large numbers that it can absorb losses and still overwhelm defenses.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /models/mq-9-reaper.md
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/models/a4a24742-35fe-470e-915d-444483658f2b
- Revision history: /models/mq-9-reaper/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Reality vs attention
MQ-9 Reaper draws attention at the 53rd percentile but verifies reality at the 95th percentile among aerial robots. Hype Gap -41.7, 111th widest among aerial robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Above-average adoption relative to same-category peers. Limited independent press and video coverage to date.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Sep 6, 2026