The average cost of a MQ-9 drone is about $30 million. The Reaper — which first began operating in 2007 — costs about $3,500 per flight hour, according to its maker, General Atomics. 3 ...

U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons The MQ-9 Reaper is one of the world's ...

The MQ-9 "Reaper" unmanned aerial vehicle can loiter at up to 50,000 feet for more than 27 hours, gathering intelligence with sophisticated cameras, sensors and radars.

The Reaper Is More and More Vulnerable. The MQ-9 Reaper has increasingly fallen behind newer drone variants, however—and grown more susceptible to anti-air efforts from the ground. Most notably ...

Before the Ukraine-Russia conflict, for example, it was found that the TB-2, MQ-1, as well as the MQ-9 Reaper Drones lacked survivability. This is one of the reasons why upgrades are ongoing.

Group 5 drones, like the MQ-9, are heavier than 1,320 pounds and fly higher than 18,000 feet. The MQ-9 is the Corps’ first Group 5 drone. The MQ-9 has a maximum takeoff weight of 10,500 pounds, ...

One of the most reliable unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operated by the U.S. military is the MQ-9 Reaper. Reapers are fast, reaching speeds of 230 mph, and they share many similarities with the ...