Search

USAF Looks to Improve MQ-9 Effectiveness Against China, Russia

USAF Looks to Improve MQ-9 Effectiveness Against China, Russia
A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper assigned to the 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron armed with an AIM-9X missile sits on the ramp on September 3, 2020 ahead of the Advanced Battle Manaagement System (ABMS) Onramp 2. In the test, the MQ-9 fired an air-to-air AIM-9X Block 2 missile against a target BQM-167 drone simulating a cruise missile. (U.S. Air Force Photo)

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s MQ-9 program office at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio said on Apr. 20 that it is upgrading the General Atomics drone to counter near-peer adversaries--Pentagon-speak for China and Russia. While U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has relied upon the MQ-9 Reaper as a strike and intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance (ISR) platform against extremist organizations, "that mission is now shifting," AFLCMC said. As such, AFLCMC this month plans to award General Atomics the first delivery order for…

Subscriber-only content. Please log in below.

Not a subscriber or registered user yet?

Please contact us at clientservices@accessintel.com or call us at 888-707-5814 (Monday – Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and Friday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET.), to start a free trial, get pricing information, order a reprint, or post an article link on your website.



Congress Updates

HII Executive Outlines Its Shipbuilding Acceleration Strategy

An HII [HII] shipbuilding executive last week told lawmakers how the company plans to improve and accelerate shipbuilding throughout via workforce improvements, adding new shipbuilding infrastructure and reinforcing distributed shipbuilding […]


House Sends Dec. 11 CR With Ship Construction Funds To Trump’s Desk For Final Signature

The House on Tuesday passed a stopgap funding bill to keep the government open through Dec. 11, sending the temporary funding measure that also includes funds to support ongoing shipbuilding […]


Guetlein On Golden Dome: ‘We Cannot Protect This Nation And Bankrupt It At The Same Time’

While there has been criticism among missile defense advocates of Golden Dome’s development pace after the signing of an executive order in January last year, Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein, […]


Interview with Rep. Jeff Crank (R-Colo.), co-chair of the Golden Dome Caucus

Rep. Jeff Crank (R-Colo.), a co-chair of the Golden Dome Caucus in Congress and a member of the House Armed Services Committee’s strategic forces panel, discusses the transformative defense investments […]