Companies Present USAF with MQ-Next Designs to Replace MQ-9 Reaper

The U.S. Air Force relaunched its efforts to replace the MQ-9 Reaper June 3, issuing a request for information on a next-generation unmanned aircraft with strike, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. It intends to accept delivery on the first systems in 2030 and field them in 2031.

Now, defense companies are stepping up with with new, long-range, stealthy design concepts for a replacement combat drone.

Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin released renderings of their respective proposals for the Air Force’s MQ-Next program Sept. 11, and General Atomics put out a concept drawing on Sept 14, corresponding with the first day of the Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference.

An MQ-9 Reaper sits on the flight line at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. (Photo Credit Senior Airman Haley Stevens/U.S. Air Force)

The Air Force has primarily used the MQ-1 Predator and the MQ-9 Reaper, both made by General Atomics, as its drone for surveillance and strike missions in the Middle East over the last two decades.

The MQ-9 Reaper is larger and carries more payload than the MQ-1 Predator, providing the military with both strike and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance collection functions. However, the USAF is now pursuing a next-generation replacement system, aptly dubbed the MQ-Next

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“We made the pivot to divest MQ-9s to pivot into high-end warfighting,” said Dr. Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, during a press briefing in July.

Now, it's become clear that with more commercial drone makers entering the contract competitions, it may become more economical and effective to operate a family of UAVs, with some build for high end-penetrating strike and reconnaissance missions and others for low-end surveillance from commercial, off-the-shelf manufacturers said Roper, the Air Force's top acquisition official.

"I wanted to give our team time to discuss with industry options that exist on both sides of that divide," Roper said during a Sept. 15 press event. "We’ve got a lot of interesting responses, and I’m in discussions right now with the operational side of the Air Force about what they think the requirement is going to be.”

So what are the options right now?

According to Defense News, Boeing and Kratos each confirmed they responded to the request for information but have not released concept art for their potential offerings. General Atomics, Lockheed and Northrop have started to share information about their respective designs.

Northrup Grumman unveiled this concept art of its SG-2 unmanned aerial system as potential offering for the USAF MQ-Next competition. (Photo Courtesy Northrup Grumman)

Northrup Grumman 's flying-wing design resembles the X-47B aicraft the company designed for the U.S. navy. It includes the same Distributed Autonomy/Responsive Control flight management system, which allows operators to task multiple drones to fly autonomously according to parameters set by the user.

The aircraft in the rendering (shown above) is just one potential concept that Northrop could develop for the MQ-Next family of systems, said Richard Sullivan, the company’s vice president of program management.

A rendering of Lockheed Martin's future UAV concept flying next to an F-35 fighter jet. (Photo Courtesy Lockheed Martin)

Lockheed Martin found in its operational analysis that an optimal-force mix of drones will require high-end aircraft and low-cost expendable systems that can operate in swarms, according to Jacob Johnson, the company’s unmanned aerial systems program manager.

The concept art for its MQ-Next submission features a tailless, stealthy, flying-wing design geared toward the high-end fight. Whether they go for high-end, low-end aircraft or both will depend on the Air Force's final requirements.

Johnson said Lockheed may put forward less exquisite systems if they require something less pricey.

General Atomics MQ-9 successor Drone (Photo Courtesy DefenseWorld.net)

General Atomics' concept departs from its previous turboprop-powered MQ-9 design with a stealthy, long-winged, jet powered air vehicle. 

Dave Alexander, president of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, told Defense News that the aircraft’s survivability and endurance, which is “significantly longer” than the Reaper, will be defining characteristics for the company’s offering. The company's investments by the company’s aeronautics division and its Electromagnetic Systems Group on advanced propulsion systems will also be advantageous, he said.

"We’re embracing ‘ultra-long endurance’ to keep our next-generation ISR [and strike UAV] in the fight for longer periods than many ever imagined possible," Alexander said. "The proposed aircraft will have the ability to stay engaged in the fight far longer than current-generation [UAVs]."

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