General Atomics MQ-9B SkyGuardian / Reaper

General Atomics · Produced in United States

Effectiveness

8/10

Price tier

$10M – $100M

Export

MTCR Categorie I

Operators

0 countries

🔒 Compliance check: This system falls under MTCR Categorie I. Whether it's orderable depends on the country you select at checkout.

Operating principle

The MQ-9 Reaper is a MALE UAV that is the opposite of a fighter aircraft in every respect: it has a wingspan of 24 m (comparable to an Embraer 145 regional jet), is powered by a single Honeywell TPE331-10GD turboprop of ~900 hp, and is optimized for endurance — not speed or agility. It cruises between 7,500 and 12,000 m, where it stays above the reach of many MANPADS and light air defenses, and remains airborne for up to 40 hours (depending on payload configuration). The Reaper takes off and lands normally from a paved runway; unlike tactical drones it is not catapult-launched or recovered with an arresting wire.