The US Marine Corps has received its final MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems at the Grey Butte Field Airport in California.
Its delivery marks the conclusion of the corps’ three-year acquisition campaign, one of defense’s efforts to upgrade its capabilities as part of the Force Design 2030 restructuring plan.
The $136-million MQ-9A contract was originally drafted to boost the corps’s operational capability in terms of range and endurance.
Marine Corps Captain Dennis Monagle shared that the MQ-9A fleet will allow the force to “move quickly, stay on schedule, and deliver advanced capability to the fleet with minimal friction.”
The Marines currently have three air stations manning the drones, located in Arizona, Hawaii, and North Carolina.
The MQ-9A Reaper
General Atomics’s MQ-9 Reaper UAV was designed to be larger and heavier than its predecessor, the MQ-1 Predator, for a better ordnance payload and cruising speed.
It can reach a maximum speed of 300 miles (483 kilometers) per hour, and has an endurance of 27 hours. Its cruise speed levels off at 194 miles (313 kilometers) per hour, and it has a service ceiling of 50,000 feet (15,420 meters).
The Marine Corps’s Reapers are integrated with the SkyTower II airborne network extension pod, which enhances its cross-domain communication features for improved data-sharing capabilities, especially in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations.
