Robot model
MQ-9 Reaper
Medium-altitude long-endurance armed UAV.
- Manufacturer
- General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
- Form factor
- aerial
- Maturity
- commercial
- Lifecycle
- superseded
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.)
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Sources on file
- 2 sources, view all
No verified deployments on file. DEPLOY tracks independently-sourced deployment evidence separately from manufacturer capability claims.
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.
MQ-9 Reaper on the deployment map
Where MQ-9 Reaper is verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
- delivery and inspection drones in United States →
- delivery and inspection drones in California →
- delivery and inspection drones in Ukraine (combat zones) →
- delivery and inspection drones in Nevada →
- delivery and inspection drones in United Kingdom →
- delivery and inspection drones in China →
- The global deployment map →
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdJun 7, 2026
Added to the verified registry
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
- What is MQ-9 Reaper?
- 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.
- How much does MQ-9 Reaper cost?
- MQ-9 Reaper's price is not publicly disclosed. DEPLOY has no verified price on record for MQ-9 Reaper from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. Physical-AI systems like this are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price; check the manufacturer for the latest.
- Is MQ-9 Reaper actually deployed in the real world?
- MQ-9 Reaper is recorded at the commercial stage, but DEPLOY has no deployment verified at a named site yet; vendor deployment claims are not independently confirmed here. Manufacturer capability claims should be read as claims pending independent verification.
- What are the specs of MQ-9 Reaper?
- MQ-9 Reaper's recorded specifications on the DEPLOY registry: Endurance: 27 h; Max speed: 240 KTAS; Weight: 2223 kg; Payload: 1723.65. See the Specs section for the full sourced set.
- Who makes MQ-9 Reaper?
- MQ-9 Reaper is made by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, based in Poway, California, USA, founded in 1993.
- Can you buy MQ-9 Reaper?
- MQ-9 Reaper is in commercial deployment and is sold to operators; contact the manufacturer to buy, and see the pricing section for any recorded price.
- What are alternatives to MQ-9 Reaper?
- On the DEPLOY registry, comparable aerial robots to MQ-9 Reaper include Zipline Platform 2 (P2), Skydio X10, Wing Delivery Aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper.
- How does MQ-9 Reaper compare to Zipline Platform 2 (P2)?
- MQ-9 Reaper and Zipline Platform 2 (P2) (Zipline · 6 deployments) are both aerial robots on the DEPLOY registry. MQ-9 Reaper has 0 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 85% of aerial models tracked by the registry.
- What is MQ-9 Reaper's maturity stage?
- MQ-9 Reaper is at the commercial stage on the DEPLOY maturity ladder (research, prototype, pilot, commercial, production). Commercial stage means production-grade deployments are operating at named customer sites.
- Is MQ-9 Reaper still being made?
- MQ-9 Reaper has been superseded by a newer generation. The historical record remains on the registry for reference. Successor: MQ-9 Reaper.
- Where is MQ-9 Reaper deployed?
- No verified deployments of MQ-9 Reaper are currently on the DEPLOY registry. DEPLOY records deployments only when verified at a named site with a primary source; absence may reflect pre-deployment, research, or manufacturer-internal use.
- Is MQ-9 Reaper safe?
- MQ-9 Reaper has no incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. This does not constitute a safety guarantee; it reflects the incidents DEPLOY has tracked and verified to date.
- How much does an MQ-9 Reaper drone cost?
- The MQ-9 Reaper costs approximately $20-32 million per unit depending on configuration, with a fully equipped sensor package reaching up to $50 million. The MQ-9 has over 27 hours endurance, operates up to 50,000 feet, and carries a 3,850 pound (1,746 kg) payload including up to 8 Hellfire missiles.
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
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning MQ-9 Reaper from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
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 18th percentile but verifies reality at the insufficient-data level among aerial robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Thin deployment record; scale validation still in progress.
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: Jul 23, 2026