Air Force Approves Requirements for New Medium-Altitude Drone to Replace MQ-9 Reaper

U.S. Air Force has approved requirements for a new medium-altitude long-endurance drone to replace the MQ-9 Reaper fleet. Maj. Gen. Christopher Niemi, the military deputy for Air Force Futures, signed out the requirements document on Monday.

He testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that the new unmanned aircraft must consist of open architectures, be easily mass produced and have a higher tolerance for attrition. The MQ-9 Reaper has been in service since 2007. An MQ-9 Reaper, depending on sensors, can cost up to $50 million a copy.

The basic Reaper can fly for more than 20 hours unarmed or more than 12 hours with weapons, while the MQ-9B version with extended wingspan can fly for more than 40 hours. The new drone is designed to be used in a more attritable way and stresses being attritable rather than survivable. Maj.

Gen. Christopher Niemi said improvements in technology since the MQ-9 was developed allow a new drone to be more flexible using open architectures. Maj. Gen. Christopher Niemi said modern production methods mean the new drone will be easier and cheaper to produce in mass numbers.

"The MQ-9 is serving us well over in the conflict that’s ongoing in the Middle East. The MQ-9 successor is intended as a medium-altitude long-endurance system for ISR and strike missions.

The new requirements document for an MQ-9 replacement was approved, as first reported by Aviation Week. At least 24 Air Force Reapers were destroyed during the war with Iran earlier in 2026. The Air Force plans to buy back some of the Reaper losses from the war with Iran.

Production of the MQ-9A model has ended in favor of the MQ-9B. U.S. Air Force has more than 130 MQ-9As. The Air Force released a request for information targeting an attritable ISR drone approximately one month before May 14 2026.

The Air Force published a market survey notice last month requesting information on a new attritable ISR drone. The attritable ISR drone market survey required a range of up to 932 miles and 20-hour endurance. The attritable ISR drone is required to fly 100 missions with low-to-medium acquisition cost.

Over 50 vendors responded to the Air Force request for information on an attritable ISR drone. Lt. Gen. Luke Cropsey, the Air Force’s military deputy for acquisitions, said there is a burgeoning interest across the broader defense industrial base on what comes next.

Lt. Gen. Luke Cropsey said over 50 vendors responded and there is enough interest to get interesting proposals back.

And I think we have enough interest to really get some interesting proposals back," Cropsey said. Maj. Gen. Christopher Niemi was recently nominated to become the service’s first chief modernization officer.

The process of replacing the Reaper dates back years. The Air Force published a request for information for the MQ-Next program in 2020. In 2021 the Air Force shifted focus to the Next-Generation Multi-Role Unmanned Aerial System Family of Systems.