General Atomics MQ-9

Design & construction

The aircraft as engineered: what it is built from, the systems it flies with, and its configuration — each box a theme.

Notable technologies — each tag names a technology on our research record for this aircraft, with its fitting status: Primary, Standard, Option or Planned.

Technical reference compiled with AI research; a value appears only where two independent research passes and a web fact-check agree. Gaps are deliberate.

Type variants

Variant	Launch / first flight	Production end	Notes
General Atomics MQ-9A-25	/ 2022		Multi-Domain Operations ready variant with integreation of Open Mission Systems and new sensors to expand reconnaissance capabilities
General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper	1998 / 2001		Long endurance UAV, used to be called Predator B until renaming in 2006.
General Atomics MQ-9B SeaGuardian	2018 / 2018		Production: 10 (2006) Approximately 10 preproduction MQ-9 air vehicles had been delivered to the USAF by end of 2006, all preproduction versions. No production-standard aircraft had yet been delivered; the first production air vehicle arrived in early 2007. [medium]. Maritime patrol variant.
General Atomics MQ-9B Protector	2018 / 2018		Armed variant of SkyGuardian.
General Atomics MQ-9B SkyGuardian	2018 / 2018		Weaponised variant, used to be called Certifiable Predator B.
General Atomics Mojave	2021 / 2021		Upgraded variant with STOL capability, derived from both MQ-9A Reaper and MQ-1C Gray ER systems. Demonstrator for GE STOL (described separately).

Airframer

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI)

News

Other aircraft programs

The program’s dated history — milestones, contracts, supplier selections and facilities, each linked to its source. Log in to view.

Information on this page is compiled from a variety of published sources; links do not necessarily imply recommendation or confirmation by the airframe manufacturer.