Summary
- USAF awards $174 million contract to General Atomics for Reaper drone upgrades.
- The contract will also include ground control stations, equipment, spare parts, and kits.
- Foreign Military Sales contract with the Netherlands accounts for half of the contract value.
The United States Air Force (USAF) has awarded a $174 million contract to defense company General Atomics to upgrade four Reaper drones. The work will be completed by early 2029 and is partly funded by a foreign military sales (FMS) contract with the Royal Netherlands Air Force.
USAF Reaper drone upgrades
According to a recent release by the US Department of Defense (DoD), General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has been awarded a $173,568,509 contract to deliver upgrades to four MQ-9A Reaper drones, along with upgrades to two ground control stations, support equipment, spare parts, and upgrade kits.
The contract will be carried out at General Atomics’ facility in Poway, California, with a completion date of January 15, 2029, penciled in. It was issued by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (AFB) in Ohio – this center is responsible for overseeing the life-cycle management of USAF assets.
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Netherlands contract
The contract will be partly funded by an FMS contract with the Netherlands to the tune of $85,048,549, accounting for approximately half of the overall contract value. The RNLAF recently doubled its commitment to Reaper drone acquisitions, increasing its order from four to eight in August 2023.
Photo: USAF
It took delivery of its first MQ-9A Block 5 drone and ground control station in 2022 and currently operates four, with its four additional Reapers to start arriving in 2026. Last month, it announced a contract with General Atomics to enhance its fleet’s capabilities, including extended fuel tanks, electronic support measures, and maritime radars.
About the Reaper
The latest Block 5 Reaper can fly up to 50,000 ft and reach speeds of up to 260 knots, along with a flight time of up to 27 hours and a 3,850 lbs (1,746 kg) payload capacity. It is operated by a two-person team, one piloting the drone and the other controlling its weapons systems and other capabilities. While the US claims the drone is primarily used to gather intelligence, it can be equipped with up to eight Hellfire missiles and perform precision-strike missions.
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Each Reaper drone costs an estimated $30 million to acquire on top of maintenance and operating costs, meaning any airframe losses can be rather costly – the US lost a total of three drones last year, and another was shot down this February over Yemen. Along with the USAF, several military allies worldwide operate the drone, including France, Italy, Japan, and the UK – there have been over 350 MQ-9s built since the drone entered service in 2007, and it has seen extensive combat in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
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