Washington: US Air Force officials have told lawmakers that they are urgently studying a successor to the MQ-9 Reaper drone after recent combat operations exposed both the platform’s battlefield value and its vulnerabilities, a development closely watched by India, which has purchased MQ-9B drones from the United States.
Senior Air Force officials told lawmakers during a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing Wednesday (local time) that the changing nature of warfare in the Middle East and Ukraine is forcing the Pentagon to rethink how unmanned aircraft are designed, produced and deployed.
The discussion came amid growing use of drones in conflicts worldwide and rising demand for long-range surveillance and strike platforms in the Indo-Pacific region.
“We are monitoring MQ-9s very, very closely in light of what has occurred over the last several weeks in Operation Epic Fury,” General David Tabor, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programmes, told senators.
Tabor said the recent conflict demonstrated “the value of the MQ-9” despite losses suffered during operations.
“The impact that it has had in spite of that attrition has really been remarkable,” he said.
He disclosed that the Air Force currently has around 135 MQ-9 aircraft while continuing to maintain “56 combat lines worldwide”.
The Air Force is now exploring immediate purchases to replenish losses while simultaneously designing a next-generation unmanned platform.
“We’re looking at options to buy back as many of the MQ-9As as we possibly can right now,” Tabor said.
Lieutenant General Christopher Niemi said the future system would likely be cheaper, modular and easier to mass produce than the current MQ-9 fleet.
“The MQ-9, depending on what sensors are on that, can cost up to $50 million a copy,” Niemi said. “By getting something that’s more modular, we think we could take advantage of an opportunity.”
Niemi said the Air Force wants unmanned aircraft that can operate in “a high threat environment” while allowing expensive components to be removed when necessary to reduce costs.
Officials also revealed that the Air Force recently issued a request for information to industry for future unmanned systems.
Lieutenant General Luke Cropsey said the response from defence companies was significant.
“They had over 50 responses to that,” Cropsey told lawmakers. “There is a burgeoning interest across the broader defence industrial base in what comes next.”
The hearing repeatedly returned to lessons emerging from Ukraine, where low-cost drones are increasingly dominating battlefields. Niemi noted that Ukraine was now producing “a million drones a month”.
He said the Air Force was pursuing “affordable mass munitions” and systems designed for rapid large-scale manufacturing.
The discussion has particular relevance for India, which signed a major agreement with the US to acquire MQ-9B Predator drones for the Indian armed forces. India sees the drones as critical for maritime surveillance, border monitoring and intelligence gathering, especially amid growing security challenges in the Indo-Pacific and along its disputed borders.
The MQ-9 family of drones has become one of America’s most recognised unmanned combat platforms over the past two decades, widely used for intelligence, surveillance and precision strikes. But recent conflicts have exposed the vulnerability of large drones operating in heavily contested airspace, accelerating efforts by militaries worldwide to develop cheaper, more survivable and AI-enabled unmanned systems.
