U.S. General Atomics Reveals First Look at Wildfire Drone to Replace MQ-9 Reaper with Massed Strike.

General Atomics has presented Wildfire as a long-range modular combat drone configured to carry two LRASMs or four JSMs while competing to succeed the MQ-9 Reaper under the U.S. Massed Modular Aircraft program. The design shifts the Reaper mission set toward lower-cost distributed operations built around stand-off weapons, massed employment, and greater tolerance for aircraft losses.

Wildfire is intended to meet requirements for a 2,800 lb payload, a combat radius of at least 2,300 nautical miles, and an 8,000-nautical-mile ferry range, with the MMA air vehicle targeted below $10 million before sensors and mission systems. If selected, the platform could extend the MQ-9 operational ecosystem into high-intensity missions while creating a potential future replacement path for foreign Reaper operators.

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General Atomics’ Wildfire drone shown in its first publicly released rendering.
(Picture source: General Atomics)

The MMA requirement is built around that approach. The Defense Innovation Unit calls for a minimum payload of 2,800 lb, or around 1,270 kg, combined with an unrefueled combat radius of at least 2,300 nautical miles while carrying that load. The specifications also require a ferry range of at least 8,000 nautical miles. Beyond these figures, the Pentagon wants an aircraft able to carry weapons, collect intelligence, conduct electronic warfare missions or act as a communications relay while remaining airborne for extended periods, without reproducing the unit cost of more sophisticated platforms.

In a video released on September 9, 2026, General Atomics showed Wildfire’s external configuration for the first time and provided additional indications of the role envisioned for the aircraft. The renderings include one configuration carrying four Joint Strike Missiles and another equipped with two AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles. According to the manufacturer, Wildfire will be able to carry at least two LRASMs, four JSMs or a comparable combination of heavy stand-off weapons. A third sequence depicts nearly a dozen aircraft converging on a naval formation before launching missiles simultaneously, placing massed employment at the center of the concept.

This weapons capacity separates Wildfire from the traditional operational profile of the MQ-9A. The Reaper remains suited to persistent intelligence missions and strike operations using weapons such as the AGM-114 Hellfire, but it was not designed to carry payloads comparable to multiple JSMs or LRASMs. With Wildfire, General Atomics is therefore seeking to turn the MALE drone into a stand-off weapons carrier able to remain outside the main surface-to-air threat envelopes while contributing to saturation attacks. The company also states that the platform will exceed the 8,000-nautical-mile ferry-range requirement. An earlier presentation of the program referred to an objective of reaching 10,000 nautical miles, although that figure has not yet been confirmed as a final performance specification.

Another central element is modularity. Wildfire is based on a new design intended to support the rapid integration of different mission payloads according to U.S. Air Force requirements. Its exact sensor suite, radar, electro-optical systems and electronic intelligence equipment have not yet been detailed, and the propulsion system also remains undisclosed. General Atomics nevertheless links the architecture to the approach already used with the Gambit family, which includes the XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station and the FQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft. The principle is to use a common airframe that can be adapted for intelligence, strike, communications, or other missions without developing a separate aircraft for each role.

At the tactical level, Wildfire is primarily intended to operate as one element within a distributed force. General Atomics says it expects to network several dozen aircraft and is considering much larger formations operating under semi-autonomous control. Groups of Wildfires could distribute their sensors across different axes, fuse collected information, and then concentrate their weapons on the same engagement area. Against dense air defenses, the intended effect is twofold. Missile range would allow the aircraft to remain outside some interception envelopes, while numbers would force an opponent to detect, track and engage multiple vectors at the same time. Such an architecture would also allow the loss of individual airframes without disrupting the mission as a whole.

This concept is directly tied to cost. The U.S. Air Force is now targeting a price below $10 million for the MMA air vehicle, excluding sensors and mission equipment, at a time when repeated losses of aircraft costing well above that threshold are becoming difficult to sustain during prolonged operations. General Atomics points to more than five million square feet of industrial capacity and previous production rates of up to 100 aircraft per year. The company says Wildfire could be delivered several years ahead of the original schedule, which called for 20 mission-ready aircraft by fiscal year 2031.

Over the longer term, General Atomics is seeking to position Wildfire as the operational successor to the MQ-9 Reaper, which the U.S. Air Force has used for more than two decades as one of its principal platforms for persistent intelligence, surveillance and strike missions. The Reaper has also been adopted by several allied air forces, creating an international user base, support infrastructure and body of operational experience around the MQ-9 family that General Atomics could seek to carry forward with Wildfire. The new aircraft, however, is being developed for a different threat environment. Whereas the MQ-9 has largely operated in permissive or semi-contested airspace, Wildfire is intended to remain relevant against denser air defenses through greater range, heavier stand-off weapons, modular systems and the ability to employ multiple aircraft at once. If selected by the U.S. Air Force as the Reaper’s successor, it could provide industrial and operational continuity while adapting the concept to high-intensity warfare. A U.S. decision in its favor would also be closely watched by current foreign MQ-9 operators, who will eventually face their own fleet replacement choices as survivability, range, and force-mass requirements become more demanding.

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience studying conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests lie in Security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.