General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
provided an MQ-9A Reaper Unmanned Aircraft Systems to the United States Marine Corps (USMC).
The brand-new MQ-9A Block 5 Extended Range (ER) UAS was delivered on April 22, 2025, and will be run by Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VMX-1), a USMC operational test squadron based at Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Arizona.The brand-new MQ-9A UAS will be used by the USMC to carry out functional tests and evaluations, in addition to develop Marine Aviation techniques, methods, and treatments through experimentation as the Marines totally carry out MQ-9A as a critical part of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF).
The Marine Corps is developing out its ISR abilities with this brand-new aircraft, stated GA-ASI President David R.
Alexander.
We are excited to see what VMX-1 does in terms of operational test in preparation for pushing brand-new capabilities into the field.The MQ-9A ER is created with field-retrofittable capabilities, such as wing-borne fuel pods and reinforced landing equipment, that extend the airplanes endurance to more than 30 hours while additional increasing its functional flexibility.
It provides long-endurance, persistent surveillance abilities, with Full-Motion Video and Synthetic Aperture Radar/Moving Target Indicator/Maritime Mode Radar.
An exceptionally trusted airplane, MQ-9A ER is equipped with a fault-tolerant flight control system and a triple-redundant avionics system architecture.
It is engineered to meet and surpass manned aircraft reliability standards.To date, GA-ASI has actually provided 18 MQ-9A UAS to USMC.
The USMC awaits shipment of two additional airplane by the end of this year.Source: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.