General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) has presented wildfirea new unmanned aircraft with which it aspires to replace the MQ-9A Reaperfrom the same company, on reconnaissance and attack missions. GA-ASI proposes a design developed from scratch that will allow manufacturing more units at a lower cost and assume losses in combat without the economic impact of losing the current Reapers.
The proposal comes while the Air Force of USA accelerates the search for a replacement after the ‘Worrying’ losses during operations against Iranaccording to recent statements by Lieutenant General Christopher Niemiresponsible for modernization of the Air Force, which is collected by Interesting Engineering. The objective is to have as soon as possible an aircraft whose manufacturing makes it possible to replace casualties more easily.
A good idea spreads like Wildfire.#UAS #Airpower pic.twitter.com/eIONVDjZ1n
— General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI) (@GenAtomics_ASI) September 9, 2026
Wildfire will compete within the program Massed Modular Aircraft (MMA)launched in July by the Air Force and the Defense Innovation Unit. The initiative seeks affordable drones that can be deployed in large numbers, adapt their equipment to different missions through a modular design and are more affordable.
A Reaper can reach 50 million dollarsdepending on the sensors and equipment installed, while the MMA objective is around 10 million per aircraft without mission equipment.
General Atomics assures that its proposal ‘meets or exceeds all requirements’ of the contest. Among its capabilities it announces more than 14,816 kilometers of range and the possibility of equipping two LRASM long-range anti-ship missiles. However, the GA-ASI statement does not indicate that it can travel that distance armed with the LRASM nor does it specify its range in that configuration.
Armament options also include, alternatively, four missiles Joint Strike Missile and other combinations of munitions and sensors. The company anticipates that Wildfire will be able to operate with a high degree of autonomy, coordinate with other aircraft and allow joint control of dozens of these drones.
In the absence of more details from GA-ASI, the MMA requirements allow us to approximate its benefits. The program requires at least 1,270 kilos of payloadsome 4,260 kilometers of combat radius without refueling and a minimum speed close to 370km/h. These are the thresholds that General Atomics claims to exceed, but without specifying the performance of the Wildfire.
For reference, the MQ-9A Reaper can carry 1,746 kilos of payloadincluding 1,361 kilos in external anchors. Its manufacturer announces more than 27 hours of autonomya speed of about 444 km/h and a scope of 2,593 km in its extended range version, 1,852 km in the standard. General Atomics assures that, compared to the Reaper, Wildfire can ‘carry a greater payload, has a greater range and costs less.’
The president of GA-ASI, David Alexanderargues that ‘this is precisely the right design for highly demanding missions and clients who need to control costs.’ The company maintains that could deliver Wildfire drones years ahead of the MMA’s initial deadline for having 20 operational aircraft by fiscal year 2031 and manufacture more than twice as much in that time.