The US Air Force has awarded Amentum a major modernization contract for the MQ-9 Reaper, reinforcing the drone’s position as a critical asset within America’s unmanned aerial arsenal. The contract, issued through the RPA Maintenance Support IDIQ, has a ceiling value of $995 million across five years, making it one of the most significant recent investments in sustaining and upgrading the MQ-9 program. The initiative will ensure the Reaper fleet remains combat-ready and technologically advanced.
Amentum’s responsibilities include supplying expert personnel, optimizing weapons-loading processes, and delivering advanced aerospace ground equipment. These services will support MQ-9 operations at numerous domestic and international locations. The goal is to boost sortie generation rates, reduce downtime, and maintain high reliability levels as the Air Force deploys the MQ-9 in increasingly diverse mission sets.
Modernization priorities under the program include Satellite Launch and Recovery improvements, next-generation sensor upgrades, and enhanced ground control efficiencies. These advancements are crucial as the MQ-9 evolves to meet the challenges of future battlefields, including operations in GPS-denied regions, air-defense-contested zones, and complex multinational mission environments. Enhanced data processing and automated workflows will further strengthen the platform’s intelligence and strike capabilities.
This award follows a broader pattern of accelerating investment in unmanned systems by the Air Force. Recent initiatives include expanding the RQ-4 Global Hawk with more autonomous navigation and surveillance tools, ongoing Northrop Grumman upgrades to MQ-9 sensor and endurance systems, and Boeing’s AI-driven wingman programs linking unmanned aircraft with manned fighters. Kratos Defense is also advancing next-generation tactical drones, while the Air Force experiments with advanced mission-planning and data-sharing architectures designed to enhance UAS performance in complex airspaces.
