Uncrewed aircraft
MQ-9A Reaper
- Milestones0
- Operators—
- Components—
- Programs—
- Capabilities—
- Inputs—
Photo: Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt · Public domain (PD-USGov) · A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper flying over Afghanistan. Resized and reencoded as WebP; no additional crop. The source repository image is already cropped.
Timeline
No milestones recorded for MQ-9A Reaper yet. The timeline fills in as unveilings, tests, contracts and deliveries are sourced.
Cost to the Government
Aircraft · General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
MQ-9A Reaper
Remotely piloted aircraft whose commonly quoted Air Force price is a complete four-aircraft system, not a single Reaper.
Average procurement / aircraft
$23.46M
2019-12 SAR · Then-year USD
Program procurement total divided by 411 production aircraft. Includes program support; not bare-aircraft flyaway cost or a four-aircraft package.
Department of Defense ↗Production aircraft delivered
311
2019-12 SAR · U.S. only
Historical cumulative deliveries; excludes three development aircraft and does not account for later retirements or losses.
Department of Defense ↗Total acquisition quantity
414
2019-12 SAR · U.S. only
Three development plus 411 production aircraft.
Department of Defense ↗Development program total
$1.519B
2019-12 SAR · Then-year USD
Historical RDT&E estimate; not all later MQ-9 modernization.
Department of Defense ↗Cost & funding breakdown
Four-aircraft system package
$56.5M
FY2011 · FY2011 USD
Includes four aircraft with sensors, ground control station and satellite communication link. Not divided into a bare-aircraft price.
U.S. Air Force ↗AFSOC subfleet only
50
2025-01 fact sheet · U.S. only
Does not include the entire Air Force, other U.S. operators or foreign fleets.
U.S. Air Force ↗System price versus aircraft price
The published package includes ground and communications equipment shared by multiple aircraft. A fleet comparison must retain this scope rather than ranking each MQ-9A at the entire system price. MQ-9B foreign orders are also a different aircraft variant.
A sourced aircraft-denominator average
The SAR supplies a procurement average using the production-aircraft denominator. This can be shown alongside the fact sheet’s four-aircraft system package, with their different scopes explicit. Neither is a current foreign-sales quotation.
Operations & sustainment
Estimated annual O&S / aircraft
$6.01M / yr
2020-01 estimate; 2019 SAR · Constant FY2008 USD
Life-cycle estimate uses 366 aircraft over 20 years, a different denominator from the acquisition table.
Department of Defense ↗Reimbursement / flight hour
$830 / hr
FY2026 · Nominal USD; Other DoD Component
Published billing rate for use by another DoD component. It is not the fully burdened cost of ownership.
DoD Comptroller ↗Cost over time · 5 observations
Each row retains its original scope and dollar basis. Changing quantities, service life and inflation can change the estimate without changing the price of building one unit.
| Observation | Measure | Amount | Dollar basis | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2011 | Four-aircraft system package Includes four aircraft with sensors, ground control station and satellite communication link. Not divided into a bare-aircraft price. | $56.5M | FY2011 USD | U.S. Air Force ↗ |
| FY2026 | Reimbursement / flight hour Published billing rate for use by another DoD component. It is not the fully burdened cost of ownership. | $830 / hr | Nominal USD; Other DoD Component | DoD Comptroller ↗ |
| 2012-02 baseline | Average procurement / aircraft Original acquisition baseline. | $29.604M | Then-year USD | Department of Defense ↗ |
| 2018-12 SAR | Average procurement / aircraft Prior annual estimate. | $25.594M | Then-year USD | Department of Defense ↗ |
| 2019-12 SAR | Average procurement / aircraft Program procurement total divided by 411 production aircraft. Includes program support; not bare-aircraft flyaway cost or a four-aircraft package. | $23.46M | Then-year USD | Department of Defense ↗ |
Contracts & purchasing · 0 records
Award values, ceilings and purchase agreements have different meanings. These records are not added together as total spending.
No primary-source contract record verified in this review. This does not mean there are no contracts.
International buyers
No international purchase documented in this review.
Coverage & open research
- Figures retain the date and scope of the original source. A historical count, cumulative delivery or procurement plan is not today’s mission-capable inventory.
Unit costs and contract unit prices for this system, and budget figures for the programs that buy it. Each figure states its dollar basis and links its source; contract values are under Programs & awards.