Program · United States · U.S. Air Force

Massed Modular Aircraft

Air Force and DIU competition for a low-cost, semi-autonomous modular drone intended to succeed the MQ-9A Reaper.

CompetitionU.S. Air ForceMMA

Awarded

—

Across linked awards

Awards

0 recipients

Cost to the government

Unit cost (per unit)Reported
$10.0M
Estimate / observation: 2026-09-03
Air Force unit-cost TARGET (not an actual or budgeted cost): about $10M per air vehicle, excluding mission equipment/sensors, stated by Lt. Gen. Christopher Niemi at a Pentagon roundtable on 3 Sep 2026. The July 2026 DIU solicitation had set a ceiling below $30M per aircraft.
Zona Militar

What the government budgets and pays for this program, from budget justification books, appropriations, acquisition reports and contract announcements. Budget years are then-year dollars unless marked; program totals and unit costs state their dollar basis. Award values (what a company was obligated) are under Awards.

Participants7

Competing bidder

Anduril IndustriesReported
CHAOS IndustriesReported
General Atomics Aeronautical SystemsReported
Grid AeroReported
Otto AerospaceReported
Shield AIReported
Swarm AeroReported

Roles as recorded: a prime holds the contract, teammates and subcontractors build under it, competing bidders bid against it, operators field the result.

News1

Sep 14, 2026NewsDefense Innovation Unit, Honeywell Aerospace, Swarm Aero, U.S. Air ForceSwarm Aero debuts Gamera drone in bid to succeed ReaperBreaking Defense

Sep 14, 2026NewsBreaking DefenseSwarm Aero debuts Gamera drone in bid to succeed Reaper

Sources3

Profile1

1
NewsAir Force Names 7 to Vie for New MMA Drone Program
Air & Space Forces Magazine · Sep 30, 2026 · Supports Program, Program · program participant:anduril-industries, Program · program participant:chaos-industries, Program · program participant:general-atomics-aeronautical-systems, Program · program participant:grid-aero, Program · program participant:otto-aerospace, Program · program participant:shield-ai, Program · program participant:swarm-aero
“Anduril, Chaos Industries, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Grid Aero, Otto Aerospace, Shield AI, and Swarm Aero all made the cut to continue to develop their candidates for the Massed Modular Aircraft.”

Other2

2
News500 drones by 2032 at US$10 million each: this is the USAF's MMA program seeking to replace the MQ-9 Reaper
Zona Militar · Oct 3, 2026 · Supports Cost
“With an estimated cost of US$10 million per unit”
3
NewsAir Force Sets $10 Million Unit-Cost Target for MQ-9 Successor and Pulls Initial Fleet Forward
Global Military · Sep 6, 2026 · Supports Cost · amount
“the Massed Modular Aircraft should cost about $10 million per airframe before mission equipment”

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