Product profile
MQ-9A Reaper
MQ-9A Reaper is General Atomics long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft for ISR and strike missions. It carries sensor and weapons payloads over extended...
Facts
- Company
- General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
- Product type
- uav
- Status
- commercial
- Website
- https://www.ga-asi.com/remotely-piloted-aircraft/mq-9a
About MQ-9A Reaper
MQ-9A is a turboprop remotely piloted aircraft providing more than 27 hours of endurance, speeds up to 240 knots and operation to 50,000 feet. Its total payload capacity reaches 3,850 pounds, including 3,000 pounds of external stores.
Payloads include electro-optical and infrared cameras, Lynx radar, maritime radar, electronic-support equipment, laser designators and weapons. A fault-tolerant flight-control system and triple-redundant avionics support persistent ISR and strike missions. Extended Range modifications increase endurance to approximately 34 hours.
Market context
aircraft, 1600, candidate28-approved-1-4, 900, 5c910f8defa0d1d6d4aea27db31bff1e39dc0ab60377d679f1f8ec239bf2f2a8, 5c910f8defa0d1d6d4aea27db31bff1e39dc0ab60377d679f1f8ec239bf2f2a8, reviewed_16x9_official_media, 1600, defence, 900, https://www.ga-asi.com/PhotoGallery/predator-b/GA-ASI_Predator-B_inFlight.jpg, https://www.ga-asi.com/PhotoGallery/predator-b/GA-ASI_Predator-B_inFlight.jpg, fielded_rpa, https://www.ga-asi.com/remotely-piloted-aircraft/mq-9a, source_backed_photo, https://zlsbkmaixmmnjrgpkcyp.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/robotics_assets/products/media-replacement-audit-2026-08-20/candidate28-approved/mq-9a-reaper-official-photo-1600x900.jpg, 2026-08-20T00:00:00.000Z, source_backed_photo, products/media-replacement-audit-2026-08-20/candidate28-approved/mq-9a-reaper-official-photo-1600x900.jpg, 2026-08-20, products/media-replacement-audit-2026-08-20/candidate28-approved/mq-9a-reaper-official-photo-1600x900.jpg, approved, source_photo_16x9_crop, exact_official_asset, https://www.ga-asi.com/remotely-piloted-aircraft/mq-9a, official photograph; no alpha; source scene preserved
Summary
Type: MALE aircraft
Core: MQ-9A
Function: Sensor endurance
Audience: Defence teams
Specifications
- ceiling
- Up to 15,240 m / 50,000 ft
- comms_control
- Fault-tolerant flight control system and triple-redundant avionics architecture
- endurance_hours
- Over 27 hours h
- max_speed_mps
- 123.5 m/s / 240 KTAS m/s
- operational_role
- Multi-role remotely piloted aircraft for persistent ISR and precision strike
- payload_capacity_kg
- 1,746 kg payload capacity, including 1,361 kg external stores kg
- range
- 4,167 km max radius km
- speed_mps
- 123.5 m/s / 240 KTAS m/s
- task_scope
- Long-endurance persistent surveillance and strike missions
Operations
- Environment
- aerial, defense, maritime, land
- Primary user
- armed_forces, government_agencies
- Role
- persistent_isr, strike, communications_relay
- Interaction model
- remotely_piloted, satellite_command_and_control
- Mobility class
- fixed_wing_rpa
- Product detail
- aircraft, 1600, candidate28-approved-1-4, 900, 5c910f8defa0d1d6d4aea27db31bff1e39dc0ab60377d679f1f8ec239bf2f2a8, 5c910f8defa0d1d6d4aea27db31bff1e39dc0ab60377d679f1f8ec239bf2f2a8, reviewed_16x9_official_media, 1600, defence, 900, https://www.ga-asi.com/PhotoGallery/predator-b/GA-ASI_Predator-B_inFlight.jpg, https://www.ga-asi.com/PhotoGallery/predator-b/GA-ASI_Predator-B_inFlight.jpg, fielded_rpa, https://www.ga-asi.com/remotely-piloted-aircraft/mq-9a, source_backed_photo, https://zlsbkmaixmmn...
Research, Articles and recent verified events
- General Atomics wins ₹19.43 billion Indian Navy MQ-9B lease contract — 2026-08-17
- Marine Corps exercises US$47.36 million MQ-9A support options — 2026-08-11
- GA-ASI receives U.S. Air Force FQ-42A production contract — 2026-06-17
- Saab LoyalEye completes first flight on GA-ASI MQ-9B — 2026-05-19
- U.S. Army awards GA-ASI contract for Gray Eagle electronic intelligence upgrade — 2026-04-15
- GA-ASI names YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft Dark Merlin — 2026-02-23
- Collins Sidekick flies GA-ASI YFQ-42A autonomously for four hours — 2026-02-20
- GA-ASI YFQ-42A completes semi-autonomous mission autonomy flight — 2026-02-12