Air Force Accelerates MMA Drone Program After 45 MQ-9 Losses to Iran

Combat attrition has driven the shift. The fleet sits at 135 airframes against a 189-aircraft requirement, with General Atomics having ended MQ-9A production in 2025. Lt. Gen. Christopher Niemi stated budget limits rule out buying large numbers of MQ-9Bs while the MMA solicitation, closed July 23 through the Defense Innovation Unit, demands 2,800-pound payload and 8,000-nautical-mile ferry range at half the cost of Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Washington Post reporting of 45 losses conflicts with the Congressional Research Service figure of 24, and the Pentagon has not provided Congress a formal accounting. This gap matters because MMA requirements were signed in May precisely to enable mass replacement of a platform whose sensors, not airframe, carry the real value. General Atomics is offering Wildfire as an early backfill independent of the competition, claiming 10,000-nautical-mile range. The service plans initial fielding of proven-technology MMA variants rather than new systems, with production quantities targeted to absorb future losses in high-threat environments. Next steps include source selection from the July DIU competition and fiscal 2026 budget decisions on whether to pursue a limited MQ-9A restart or move directly to MMA prototypes.