Uncrewed aircraft
RQ-21A Blackjack
- Milestones0
- Operators—
- Components—
- Programs—
- Capabilities—
- Inputs—
Photo: Lance Cpl. Kyle Chan · Public domain (PD-USGov) · Full source frame retained; resized without upscaling and encoded as WebP.
Timeline
No milestones recorded for RQ-21A Blackjack yet. The timeline fills in as unveilings, tests, contracts and deliveries are sourced.
Cost to the Government
Aircraft · Boeing / Insitu
RQ-21A Blackjack
A five-aircraft system budget is separated from an individual drone price and later retirement proposals.
Historical procurement / five-aircraft system
$21.55M
FY2018 request · Nominal USD; stated contract or budget scope
Senate testimony requested $86.2M for four expeditionary systems containing 20 aircraft. System procurement scope includes more than the air vehicles.
U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee ↗U.S. inventory
Not verified
A current U.S. inventory was not established. Annual procurement, cumulative deliveries and production capacity are not a stockpile count.
Marine Corps systems delivered
21
2019-06-12 · U.S. only; stated source scope
Final delivery completed the Marine Corps order of 21 systems; not 21 aircraft, all U.S. customers, or current inventory.
NAVAIR ↗Joint annual RDT&E request
$13.7M / yr
FY2018 request · Nominal USD; source budget basis
$4.8M Navy plus $8.9M Marine Corps; annual research request, not lifetime R&D.
U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee ↗Systems, aircraft and support are separate denominators
The FY2018 request includes five aircraft per expeditionary system and separate Navy support funding. Neither the system average nor total support funding is a bare-aircraft price.
Historical deliveries predate divestment proposals
DoD described plans to retire RQ-21 in its FY2023 budget discussion. The 2019 Marine Corps delivery total is retained as history and is not a 2026 fleet count.
Operations & sustainment
Annual operations & support
Not verified
A complete, system-specific annual operating and support cost was not established. Procurement, replacement rounds and contract support are different measures.
Cost over time · 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2018 request | Historical procurement / five-aircraft system Senate testimony requested $86.2M for four expeditionary systems containing 20 aircraft. System procurement scope includes more than the air vehicles. | $21.55M | Nominal USD; stated contract or budget scope | U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee ↗ |
| FY2018 request | Joint annual RDT&E request $4.8M Navy plus $8.9M Marine Corps; annual research request, not lifetime R&D. | $13.7M / yr | Nominal USD; source budget basis | U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee ↗ |
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
United States · Quantity not verified · U.S. program customer · Dated source snapshot
Purchases and program plans are not a current operational inventory.
NAVAIR ↗
Coverage & open research
- Buyer records are selected examples, not a complete global order book.
- Current U.S. operational inventory was not established; dated purchases, deliveries and plans remain separate.
- Complete annual operating and support costs were not established.
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.