WASHINGTON — General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) officially unveiled its clean-sheet design intended to succeed the MQ-9A Reaper, asserting that the aircraft can be manufactured quickly and surpass Pentagon specifications.
The Wildfire drone is designed to handle missions typically assigned to the Reaper, such as long-endurance surveillance and strike operations. GA-ASI also highlights its potential for civilian applications, noting that its enhanced payload capacity and reinforced hardpoints enable new capabilities, including commercial cargo transport.
“This is precisely the right design for high-demand missions and budget-conscious customers,” stated GA-ASI President David Alexander. “Our custom-built, attrition-tolerant Wildfire combines the high performance our aircraft are known for with exceptional flexibility and scalability. Nothing like it has ever existed before.”
The company is positioning Wildfire for the Massed Modular Aircraft (MMA) program, initiated by the Air Force and Defense Innovation Unit in July to find a Reaper replacement. Lt. Gen. Christopher Niemi, the Air Force’s chief modernization officer, indicated the program was expedited due to “concerning” Reaper losses during combat against Iran, stressing the objective to replace the aging drone with a more affordable, attritable system.
The Reaper costs up to $50 million per unit, depending on configuration, Air Force officials said. (Production of the Reaper ended last year, although an upgraded MQ-9B SkyGuardian is currently in production.) According to Niemi, the Pentagon targets an MMA air vehicle cost of approximately $10 million per unit, excluding mission equipment.
The Pentagon’s solicitation required an aircraft capable of self-deploying 8,000 nautical miles (9,206 miles) and carrying a minimum payload of 2,800 pounds. GA-ASI claims the Wildfire “meets or surpasses all requirements” of the solicitation, “exceeding 8,000 nautical miles ferry range and capable of carrying two Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles simultaneously for meaningful combat distance.”
Furthermore, the Wildfire can accommodate various combinations of “munitions, launched effects, sensors, or other payloads” and will be “highly autonomous and designed for collaborative operations” from the start.
Although the Pentagon aimed for an MMA system operational by fiscal 2031 with 20 mission-ready drones, Air Force officials now seek a faster timeline. GA-ASI asserts the Wildfire “can be delivered years earlier than the FY2031 timeline” and can produce over double the quantity of drones within the same period.
Air Force officials anticipate the MMA program will resemble the Collaborative Combat Aircraft wingman initiative—where GA-ASI and Anduril recently secured production deals—by utilizing open architectures and successive design “increments.” Niemi predicted the MMA aircraft would not feature “cutting edge” technology and would “probably” utilize a turboprop engine with “a long aspect wing.”