The Air Force Wants a $10M Reaper Replacement

Dozens of MQ-9As lost over Iran have forced the Pentagon to accelerate its Massed Modular Aircraft program—and rethink what a drone actually needs to be.

By The Defense Desk

The U.S. [1][2]

The program is called the Massed Modular Aircraft, or MMA. The Air Force is targeting a unit price of approximately $10 million—excluding sensors and mission systems—compared to the $30–$50 million fully kitted cost of the Reaper it would succeed. [1] Lt. Gen. Christopher Niemi, the Air Force's chief modernization officer, told reporters the goal was for MMA drones to be "closer to half" the cost of a Collaborative Combat Aircraft, itself targeted at $20 million at full-rate production. [2]

Niemi was direct about the tradeoffs required. "What makes the MQ-9 special has nothing to do with the aircraft itself. Like there is no cutting-edge technology for how fast it flies, how high it flies, how far it flies, all that is proven, decades-old technology," he said. [1]

General Atomics—which has long had a monopoly on the U.S. MALE combat drone market—is competing with a new design called Wildfire, while newer entrants are also angling for the contract. Gen. Joseph Kunkel, DIU's military deputy, said the DIU intends to get to a prototype within a year and fielded at scale within three years, with an eventual fleet of at least 180 aircraft. [2]

What's shifting here isn't just a price point—it's a doctrine. Affordability as a design requirement changes who builds these machines, how quickly they can be replaced, and what losses a military is willing to accept.

The Air Force's Reaper fleet had shrunk to 135 airframes as of May, down from 165 at the start of Fiscal Year 2026—and the clock on finding a successor is no longer abstract. [1]