General Atomics MQ - 9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ - 9 Reaper ( formerly named Predator B ) is an unmanned aerial vehicle ( UAV ) capable of remote control led or autonomous flight operations , developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems ( GA - ASI ) primarily for the United States Air Force . UAVs are also referred to as drones . The MQ - 9 and other UAVs are referred to as Remotely Piloted Vehicles / Aircraft ( RPV / RPA ) by the U . S . Air Force to indicate their human ground controllers . The MQ - 9 is the first hunter - killer UAV designed for long - endurance , high - altitude surveillance . The MQ - 9 is a larger , heavier , and more capable aircraft than the earlier MQ - 1 Predator ; it can be controlled by the same ground systems used to control MQ - 1s . The Reaper has a 950 - shaft - horsepower ( 712 kW ) turboprop engine , far more powerful than the Predator ' s piston engine . The power increase allows the Reaper to carry 15 times more ordnance payload and cruise at almost three times the speed of the MQ - 1 . The aircraft is monitored and controlled by aircrew in the Ground Control Station ( GCS ) , including weapons employment . In 2008 , the New York Air National Guard 174th Fighter Wing began the transition from F - 16 piloted fighters to MQ - 9 Reapers , becoming the first fighter squadron conversion to an all – unmanned combat air vehicle ( UCAV ) attack squadron . In March 2011 , the U . S . Air Force was training more pilots for advanced unmanned aerial vehicles than for any other single weapons system . The Reaper is also used by the United States Navy , the CIA , U . S . Customs and Border Protection , NASA , and others . Then Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force General T . Michael Moseley said , " We ' ve moved from using UAVs primarily in intelligence , surveillance , and reconnaissance roles before Operation Iraqi Freedom , to a true hunter - killer role with the Reaper . " Development . With the success of the MQ - 1 in combat , General Atomics anticipated the Air Force ' s desire for an upgraded aircraft and , using its own funds , set about redesigning the Predator drone for increased ability . Prototype " Predator B " . General Atomics began development of the Reaper with the " Predator B - 001 " , a proof - of - concept aircraft , which first flew on 2 February 2001 . The B - 001 was powered by an AlliedSignal Garrett AiResearch TPE - 331 - 10T turboprop engine with 950 shp ( 712 kW ) . It had an airframe that was based on the standard Predator airframe , except with an enlarged fuselage and wings lengthened from 48 feet ( 14 . 6 m ) to 66 feet ( 20 m ) . The B - 001 had a speed of 220 knots ( 390 km / h ) and could carry a payload of 750 pounds ( 340 kilograms ) to an altitude of 50 , 000 feet ( 15 . 2 kilometers ) with an endurance of 30 hours . The company refined the design , taking it in two separate directions . The first was a jet - powered version ; " Predator B - 002 " was fitted with a Williams FJ44 - 2A turbofan engine with 10 . 2 kN ( 2 , 300 lbf , 1 , 040 kgf ) thrust . It had payload capacity of 475 pounds ( 215 kilograms ) , a ceiling of 60 , 000 feet ( 18 . 3 kilometers ) and endurance of 12 hours . The U . S . Air Force ordered two airframes for evaluation , delivered in 2007 . The first two airframes delivered with prototypes B - 001 and B - 002 ( now in the USAF museum at Wright - Patterson AFB ) . B - 002 was originally equipped with the FJ - 44 engine but it was removed and a TPE - 331 - 10T was installed so that the USAF could take delivery of two aircraft in the same configuration . The second direction the design took was the " Predator B - 003 " , referred to by GA as the " Altair " , which has a new airframe with an 84 - foot ( 25 . 6 m ) wingspan and a takeoff weight of about 7 , 000 pounds ( 3 , 175 kg ) . Like the Predator B - 001 , it is powered by a TP - 331 - 10T turboprop . This variant has a payload capacity of 3 , 000 pounds ( 1 , 360 kg ) , a maximum ceiling of 52 , 000 feet ( 15 . 8 km ) , and an endurance of 36 hours . Version for U . S . Air Force . In October 2001 , the U . S . Air Force signed a contract with GA to purchase an initial pair of Predator B ' s ( 001 and 002 ) for evaluation , with follow - up orders for production machines . The first test MQ - 9s were delivered to the Air Force in 2002 . The name " Altair " did not follow the aircraft into testing , with the Air Force continuing to refer to the system as " Predator B " until it was renamed Reaper ( " Altair " instead became the designation for the unarmed ( 003 ) NASA version ) . Operators , stationed at bases such as Creech Air Force Base , near Las Vegas , can hunt for targets and observe terrain using a number of sensors , including a thermal camera . One estimate has the on - board camera able to read a license plate from two miles ( 3 km ) away . An operator ' s command takes 1 . 2 seconds to reach the drone via a satellite link . The MQ - 9 is fitted with six stores pylons . The inner stores pylons can carry a maximum of 1 , 500 pounds ( 680 kilograms ) each and allow carriage of external fuel tanks . The mid - wing stores pylons can carry a maximum of 600 pounds ( 270 kilograms ) each , while the outer stores pylons can carry a maximum of 200 pounds ( 90 kilograms ) each . An MQ - 9 with two 1 , 000 pound ( 450 kilogram ) external fuel tanks and a thousand pounds of munitions has an endurance of 42 hours . The Reaper has an endurance of 14 hours when fully loaded with munitions . The MQ - 9 carries a variety of weapons including the GBU - 12 Paveway II laser - guided bomb , the AGM - 114 Hellfire II air - to - ground missiles , the AIM - 9 Sidewinder , and recently , the GBU - 38 JDAM ( Joint Direct Attack Munition ) . Tests are underway to allow for the addition of the AIM - 92 Stinger air - to - air missile . The air force believed that the Predator B would give the service an improved " deadly persistence " capability , with the RPV flying over a combat area night and day waiting for a target to present itself . In this role an armed RPV neatly complements piloted strike aircraft . A piloted strike aircraft can be used to drop larger quantities of ordnance on a target while a cheaper RPV can be kept in operation almost continuously , with ground controllers working in shifts , carrying a lighter ordnance load to destroy targets . In March 2011 U . S . Department of Defense Secretary Robert Gates stated that , while manned aircraft are needed , the Air Force must recognize “ the enormous strategic and cultural implications of the vast expansion in remotely piloted vehicles ” that already play a major role over Afghanistan and Iraq . “ The view still lingers in some corners that , once I depart as secretary and once U . S . forces draw down from Iraq and Afghanistan in accordance with the president ’ s and NATO ’ s strategy , things can get back to what some consider to be real Air Force normal , ” he said . “ This must not happen . ” Even as it buys new manned fighters and bombers , the Air Force must give equal weight to unmanned drones and “ the service ’ s important role in the cyber and space domains . ” By October 2007 , the U . S . Air Force owned nine Reapers , and by December 2010 owned 57 with plans to buy another 272 , for a total buy of 329 Reapers . On 18 May 2006 , the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) issued a certificate of authorization that allows the MQ - 1 and MQ - 9 aircraft to fly in U . S . civilian airspace to search for survivors of disasters . Requests had been made in 2005 for the aircraft to be used in search and rescue operations following Hurricane Katrina but , because there was no FAA authorization in place at the time , the planes were not used . In September 2007 , the MQ - 9 deployed into Iraq at Balad , the largest U . S . air base in Iraq . On 28 October 2007 , the " Air Force Times " reported an MQ - 9 had achieved its first " kill " , firing a Hellfire missile against Afghanistan insurgents in the Deh Rawood region of the mountainous Oruzgan province . The strike was a success , as stated by the United States Central Command Air Forces . Critics have stated that the USAF ' s insistence on qualified pilots flying RPVs is a bottleneck to expanding their deployment . Air Force Major General William Rew stated on 5 August 2008 , " For the way we fly them right now " — fully integrated into air operations and often flying missions alongside manned aircraft — " we want pilots to fly them . " This may be exacerbating losses of Air Force aircraft , in comparison with US Army operations . The typical MQ - 9 system consists of multiple aircraft , ground control station , communications equipment and links , maintenance spares , and military ( or contractor ) personnel . The crew consists of a pilot , sensor operator , and Mission Intelligence Coordinator . To meet combat requirements , the MQ - 9 tailors its capabilities using mission kits of various combinations of weapons and sensors payloads . The Raytheon AN / AAS - 52 multi - spectral targeting sensor suite includes a color / monochrome daylight TV , infrared , and image - intensified TV with laser rangefinder / target designator to designate targets for laser guided munitions . The Synthetic Aperture Radar system enables GBU - 38 JDAM targeting , is capable of very fine resolution in both spotlight and strip modes , and has ground moving target indicator capability . Testbed and upgrades . The Reaper is being used as a testbed for Gorgon Stare , a wide - area surveillance sensor system . In January 2012 , General Atomics made available a new trailing arm design for the main landing gear of the Reaper . Benefits of the new gear include a 30 % + increase in landing weight capacity , an increase in gross takeoff weight by approximately 12 % ( 10 , 500 lb vs . 11 , 700 lb ) , a maintenance - free shock absorber , which eliminates the need for nitrogen pressurization , a fully rejected takeoff brake system at a gross maximum weight of 11 , 700 lb , and includes provisions for automatic takeoff and landing capability and Anti - lock Brake System ( ABS ) field upgrades . In April 2012 , General Atomics announced possible upgrades to air force Reapers . They include adding two fuel pods under the wings , each with about 100 gallons of fuel , and installing their new heavy - weight landing gear . This would increase endurance to 37 hours . The wingspan can also be increased to 88 ft , increasing endurance to 42 hours . In November 2012 , Raytheon completed ground verification tests for the ADM - 160 MALD and MALD - J for integration onto the MQ - 9 Reaper . Integration onto the aircraft is expected sometime in 2013 , with the goal for an unmanned suppression of enemy air defenses capability . On 12 April 2013 , a company - owned MQ - 9 successfully demonstrated the Reaper ' s electronic warfare capability at Marine Corp Air Station ( MCAS ) Yuma . The purpose of the demonstration was to see if a remotely piloted aircraft could be used as an electronic attack platform against enemy air defenses in support of tactical strike aircraft . The Reaper was equipped with a jamming pod and digital receiver / exciter . The UAV seamlessly integrated with the payload and performed its mission with over 20 participating aircraft . Future demonstrations will execute a multi - node approach against a more capable Integrated Air Defense System ( IADS ) in concert with other unmanned aircraft and EA - 6B Prowler s . They will also focus on a more integrated and networked EW capability . At AUVSI 2013 , General Atomics revealed it was in discussions with Raytheon to integrate weapons used on larger , manned aircraft , including the AIM - 9X Sidewinder , AIM - 120 AMRAAM , and AGM - 88 HARM . Tests are not yet planned , but General Atomics is doing an initial design review to explore the feasibility . With a payload , its wings are " more than sufficient " to mount larger air - to - air or air - to - surface missiles . Internal funds are being used to build an AESA radar for the MQ - 9 . The main purpose would be collision avoidance , but the radars could be used operationally for targeting incoming air - to - air threats , searching for ground targets , and jamming enemy systems . Equipping the Reaper with these systems would create an opportunity to conduct counter - UAV missions . General Atomics is also considering equipping the MQ - 9 with Link 16 to allow it to pass targeting coordinates and position information to manned aircraft . The Air Force Special Operations Command wants the ability to pack up an MQ - 9 Reaper in less than eight hours , fly it anywhere in the world aboard a C - 17 Globemaster III , and then unpack it and have it ready to fly in another eight hours . AFSOC wants to deliver large UAVs to support special operations teams to places without any infrastructure . The concept has been demonstrated with the smaller MQ - 1 , but delivering the Reaper this way is expected to take a few years . MQ - 1 and MQ - 9 drones must fly aboard cargo aircraft to travel long distances because they don ' t have the refueling technology or speed to travel themselves , and the C - 17 is large enough to carry the aircraft with the systems to fly it and can land on short runways . Pilots traveling with the Reaper will use the ground control station to launch and land the aircraft , while most of the flying will be handed off to pilots in the U . S . Design . The typical MQ - 9 system is composed of multiple aircraft , ground - control stations , satellites , and flight and maintenance crews . The aircraft is powered by a 950 horsepower turboprop , with a maximum speed of about 260 knots ( 300 miles per hour or 483 km per hour ) and a cruising speed of 150 - 170 knots ( 278 to 315 km / hour ) . With a wingspan , and a maximum payload of , the MQ - 9 can be armed with a variety of weaponry , including Hellfire missiles and 500 - lb laser - guided bomb units . The Reaper has a range of and an operational altitude of , which makes it especially useful for long - term loitering operations , both for surveillance and support of ground troops . All Predator variants are designed for military operations , not to operate among crowded airline traffic . The Predator lacks systems capable of complying with FAA See - And - Avoid regulations . Operational history . U . S . Air Force . On 1 May 2007 , the 432d Wing of the U . S . Air Force was activated to operate MQ - 9 Reaper as well as MQ - 1 Predator UAVs at Creech Air Force Base , Nevada . The pilots first conducted combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan in the summer of 2007 . In October 2007 the USAF was flying operational missions in Afghanistan . As of 6 March 2008 , according to USAF Lieutenant General Gary North , the Reaper has attacked 16 targets in Afghanistan using bombs and Hellfire missiles . On 4 February 2008 the MQ - 9 dropped a bomb on a truck carrying an insurgent mortar and team near Kandahar . On 17 July 2008 , the air force began flying Reaper missions within Iraq from Balad Air Base . It was reported on 11 August 2008 that the 174th Fighter Wing of the USAF will consist entirely of Reapers . By March 2009 the U . S . Air Force had 28 operational Reapers . On 13 September 2009 , an MQ - 9 was flying a combat mission over Afghanistan when positive control of the aircraft was lost resulting in the drone flying out of control towards the Afghan border with Tajikistan . An F - 15E Strike Eagle was sent to destroy it ; the Reaper ' s engine was disabled with an AIM - 9 missile . The satellite link with the vehicle was restored immediately after , leaving the operator no option other than to steer it into a mountainside along with its ordnance . It was the first time a US drone was destroyed intentionally by allied forces . Beginning in September 2009 , Reapers were deployed by the Africa Command to the Seychelles islands for use in Indian Ocean anti - piracy patrols . As of July 2010 , 38 Predators and Reapers have been lost during combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq , with another 9 crashing during training operations in the U . S . The U . S . Air Force conducted more than 33 , 000 close air support mission flights in 2010 , an increase of more than 20 percent compared with 2009 . As of March 2011 , the U . S . Air Force had 48 Predator and Reaper combat air patrols flying in Iraq and Afghanistan compared with 18 in 2007 . As of March 2011 , the U . S . Air Force was training more pilots for advanced unmanned aerial vehicles than for any other single weapons system . In October 2011 , the U . S . Air Force began operating Reapers out of Arba Minch in Ethiopia . It has been reported that these shall be used for surveillance only operations over Somalia . On 13 December 2011 an air force MQ - 9 Reaper crashed at the Seychelles International Airport in Mahe , located in the Indian Ocean , 1 , 500 miles east of mainland Africa . The MQ - 9 was not armed and no injuries were reported . The cause of the incident is unknown . In 2012 , the Reaper , Predator and Global Hawk were described as " . . . the most accident - prone aircraft in the Air Force fleet . " These figures must be taken with caution due to the nature of the aircraft that are often put in hostile or dangerous missions . However , the Predator and Reaper aircraft also have the highest operational readiness rate of any aircraft in the US DoD inventory , often exceeding 99 % mission availability rate . These systems are extremely reliable by any standard . Reapers and Predator drone s were deployed in Benghazi , Libya after the attack that killed the US ambassador in that city . In February 2013 , the U . S . stationed a Predator drone at Niamey to provide intelligence for French forces during Operation Serval in Mali . The Predator was quickly replaced with two MQ - 9 Reapers . In April 2013 , one of the Reapers crashed on a surveillance flight due to mechanical failure . On 22 October 2013 , the U . S . Air Force ' s fleets of MQ - 1 Predators and MQ - 9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft reached 2 , 000 , 000 flight hours . The RPA program began in the mid - 1990s , taking 16 years for them to reach 1 million flight hours . The 2 million hour mark was reached just two and a half years after that . On 12 November 2013 , a MQ - 9 Reaper crashed near the US / Canada border in Lake Ontario . It had taken off from Fort Drum , NY . NASA . NASA had initially expressed some interest in a production version of the B - 002 turbofan - powered variant , but instead has leased an unarmed version of the Reaper , which carries the GA - ASI company name " Altair " . Altair is one of the first 3 " Predator - B " airframes . The other 2 airframes , known as " Predator - B 001 " and " Predator - B 002 " , had a maximum gross weight of . Altair differs from these models in that it has an long wingspan ( greater than early and current MQ - 9s ) . The Altair has enhanced avionics systems to better enable it to fly in FAA - controlled civil airspace and demonstrate " over - the - horizon " command and control capability from a ground station . These aircraft are used by NASA ' s Earth Science Enterprise as part of the NASA ERAST Program to perform on - location science missions . In November 2006 , NASA ' s Dryden Flight Research Center obtained an MQ - 9 from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems . The aircraft has been named " Ikhana " and its main goal is the Suborbital Science Program within the Science Mission Directorate . NASA also acquired a ground control station in a mobile trailer . This aircraft was used extensively to survey the Southern California wildfires in 2007 . The data was used to deploy firefighters to areas of the highest need . The California Office of Emergency Services requested NASA support for the Esperanza Fire , and in under 24 hours the General Atomics Altair was launched on a 16 - hour mission to map the perimeter of the fire . The Altair had just returned from a test mission a day before the Esperanza Fire started . The fire mapping research is a joint project with NASA and the US Forest Service . US Homeland Security . U . S . Customs and Border Protection ( CBP ) operated nine MQ - 9s in August 2012 . Two were based in North Dakota at Grand Forks Air Force Base , four were based in Arizona , at Fort Huachuca and one was based at the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi , Texas . These aircraft were equipped with GA - ASI ' s Lynx synthetic aperture radar and Raytheon ' s MTS - B electro - optical infrared sensors . CBP also had two maritime MQ - 9s called Guardians , based at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station , Florida and Naval Air Station Corpus Christi , Texas . The Guardians were equipped with the SeaVue marine search radar ; their electro - optical infrared sensor was optimized for maritime operations . The United States Department of Homeland Security initially ordered one Predator B for border protection duty , referred to as MQ - 9 CBP - 101 . It began operations 4 October 2005 and crashed in the Arizona desert on 25 April 2006 . The NTSB determined ( Record Identification : CHI06MA121 ) that the cause of the crash was most likely pilot error by the aircraft ' s ground - based pilot in the use of a checklist . During its operational period , the aircraft flew 959 hours on patrol and had a part in 2 , 309 arrests . It also contributed to the seizure of four vehicles and of marijuana . Because of these successes , a second Predator B , called " CBP - 104 " ( initially referred to as " CBP - 102 " ) , was delivered in September 2006 and commenced limited border protection operations on 18 October 2006 . The program was further expanded on 16 February 2009 , including Canadian border patrols where US officials were concerned about the exploitation of the border by " drug smugglers , migrants and terrorists " . The CBP - 101 was equipped with the Lynx SAR , AX - 15 payload , AN / ARC - 210 radios , and other sensors and communications equipment ; CBP - 104 was enhanced with K - band satellite command and control link and an MTS - A EO / IR sensor . The President ' s FY 2006 emergency supplemental budget request added $ 45 million for the program and the FY 2007 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill added an additional $ 20 million . In October 2006 , GA - ASI announced a $ 33 . 9 million contract to supply two more Predator B systems by the fall of 2007 . In the 25 April 2006 accident involving aircraft CBP - 101 , the pilot , remotely operating the vehicle from Sierra Vista Municipal Airport , reported a momentary lockup of the displays on the primary control console . The pilot switched control to a secondary console without following the checklist and inadvertently shut down the vehicle ' s engine , causing it to descend out of reach of communications and ultimately crash near Nogales , Arizona . The CBP operates one MQ - 9 Guardian jointly with the U . S . Coast Guard out of land - based stations in Florida and Texas . On 14 October 2013 , an MQ - 9 Predator B began patrolling the Manitoba portion of the U . S . - Canada border . The UAV is based at Grand Forks Air Force Base and will watch the - long border . The drone will not carry weapons and needs permission to enter Canadian airspace . U . S . authorities fear that drug smugglers , migrants , and even terrorists may exploit the long border . The use of the unmanned surveillance aircraft is an enhancement of the partnership between U . S . and Canadian agencies . Other users . Australia . In September 2006 , the General Atomics Mariner demonstrator aircraft was operated by the Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation ( DSTO ) in an exercise designed to evaluate the aircraft ' s ability to aid in efforts to stem illegal fishing , drug running and illegal immigration . The Mariner operated from RAAF bases Edinburgh , South Australia and Learmonth , Western Australia in conjunction with a Royal Australian Navy " Armidale " class patrol boat , the Joint Offshore Protection Command and the Pilbara Regiment . Dominican Republic . The operation of the Predator UAV " Guardian " by the Dominican Republic under U . S . supervision and funding , was revealed on the national news in July 2012 . The program had been running for more than a month prior to that announcement . France . On 31 May 2013 , French Defense Minister Jean - Yves Le Drian confirmed the order of two MQ - 9 Reapers . The aircraft are to be delivered by the end of 2013 . The Reaper was chosen to replace the EADS Harfang and was picked over the Israeli Heron TP . On 27 June 2013 , the U . S . Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to France for 16 unarmed MQ - 9s , associated equipment , ground control hardware , and support , worth up to $ 1 . 5 billion total . On 26 August 2013 , France and the US Department of Defense concluded the deal for 16 Reapers and 8 ground control stations , with French operators beginning training . At Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico on 24 September 2013 , France ' s first pair of MQ - 9 Reaper pilots conducted a two hour training sortie . Both French pilots had prior experience flying UAVs , and went through a five - week ground - based training course and 5 hours on a flight simulator before the first flight . Two additional crews are also currently receiving instruction on the aircraft at the U . S . facility . General Atomics is due to deliver two Reapers and one ground control station to the French Air Force by the end of 2013 . Germany . Germany has made a request to purchase five Reapers and four ground control stations , plus related support material and training . The request , being made through the Foreign Military Sales process , was presented to Congress through the Defense Security Cooperation Agency on 1 August 2008 and is valued at US $ 205 million . However , Germany did not go through with this procurement for the time being and decided to lease the IAI Heron offered by IAI and Rheinmetall instead , initially for the duration of one year , representing a stop - gap measure before a long - term decision on a MALE - system is being made . Italy . On 1 August 2008 , Italy submitted a FMS request through the Defense Security Cooperation Agency for four aircraft , four ground stations and five years of maintenance support , all valued at US $ 330 million . Italy ordered two more aircraft in November 2009 . On 30 May 2012 , it was reported that U . S . plans to sell kits to arm Italy ' s six Reapers with Hellfire missiles and laser - guided bombs . However Gen . Alberto Rosso has expressed frustration at American delays in integrating additional weapons onto the platform and suggested that Italy may have to seek UAS alternatives . Netherlands . On 19 June 2013 , General Atomics and Fokker Technologies signed a Memorandum of Understanding ( MOU ) to offer the MQ - 9 Reaper to the Dutch government for their need of a Medium - Altitude Long - Endurance ( MALE ) UAV . The MOU recognizes that Fokker will assist in maintenance and support of the aircraft in the Netherlands if a deal goes through . United Kingdom . On 27 September 2006 , the U . S . Congress was notified by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency that the United Kingdom was seeking to purchase a pair of MQ - 9 Reapers . They are operated by No . 39 Squadron RAF from Creech Air Force Base , Nevada . A third MQ - 9 was in the process of being purchased by the RAF in 2007 . On 9 November 2007 , the UK Ministry of Defence announced that its MQ - 9 Reapers had begun operations in Afghanistan against the Taliban . In April 2008 , following the crash of one of the UK ' s two Reapers , British special forces were sent to recover sensitive material from the wreckage before it was blown up to prevent the enemy from obtaining it . By May 2011 , five Reaper aircraft were in operation , with a further five on order . The second squadron to operate five MQ - 9 Reapers for the RAF is XIII Sqn , which formally stood up on 26 October 2012 . No . 39 Squadron personnel were planned to gradually return to the UK in 2013 and in time both squadrons would each operate five Reapers from RAF Waddington . In April 2013 , XIII squadron started full operations from RAF Waddington , exercising control over a complement of 10 Reapers , at that point all being based in Afghanistan . In April 2013 , the UK Minister for Defense Equipment , Support , and Technology stated that the Defense Ministry was studying the adoption of MBDA ' s Brimstone missile for the MQ - 9 . Variants . Naval version . General Atomics designed a naval version of the Reaper , named the " Mariner " , for the U . S . Navy ' s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance ( BAMS ) program requirements . The design would have an increased fuel capacity in order to have an endurance of up to 49 hours . Proposed variations on the ultimate design included one designed for carrier operations with folding wings for carrier storage , shorter and more rugged landing gear , an arresting hook , cut - down or eliminated ventral flight surfaces and six stores pylons with a total load of 3 , 000 pounds ( 1 , 360 kilograms ) . The Northrop Grumman RQ - 4N was announced the BAMS winner . The US Customs and Border Protection ( CBP ) operates two maritime variants of the MQ - 9 , known as Guardians . The U . S . Coast Guard evaluated the Guardian , including performing joint operations with CBP . The CBP and the Coast Guard operates one MQ - 9 Guardian jointly out of land - based stations in Florida and Texas . MQ - 9 Block 1 - Plus . On 24 May 2012 , General Atomics conducted the successful first flight of its upgraded MQ - 9 Block 1 - plus Reaper . The Block 1 - plus was designed for increased electrical power , secure communications , auto land , increased Gross Takeoff Weight ( GTOW ) , weapons growth , and streamlined payload integration capabilities . Featuring a new high - capacity starter generator , the aircraft offers an increase in electrical power capacity over the current Block 1 design . This increased power provides the aircraft with significant capacity for growth . The upgraded electrical system includes a backup generator which is sufficient to support all flight critical functions . This vastly improves the reliability of the electrical power system by providing three independent power sources . New communications capabilities will be available , including dual ARC - 210 VHF / UHF radios with wingtip antennas , allowing for simultaneous communications between multiple air - to - air and air - to - ground parties ; secure data links ; and an increased data transmission capacity . The new trailing arm main landing gear will be included , enabling the aircraft to carry heavier payloads or additional fuel . Development and testing were completed , and Milestone C was achieved in September 2012 . Follow - on aircraft will be redesignated MQ - 9 Block 5 . On 15 October 2013 , the air force awarded General Atomics a $ 377 . 4 million contract for 24 MQ - 9 Block 5 Reaper UAVs .