Marine Corps Enhances MQ-9 Reaper Drones with Furtive Capabilities.

On July 3, 2024, the United States Marine Corps announced that it is striving to make its MQ-9 Reaper drones harder to detect by equipping them with secret high-tech pods capable of countering enemy sensors, stated General Eric Smith, Commandant of the Marine Corps, at an event at the Brookings Institution.
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General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper Drone (Picture source: General Atomics)

The MQ-9 Reaper, manufactured by General Atomics, is a long-endurance unmanned aerial system used to provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. They also serve as secure communication gateways and network bridges for joint forces. These drones will exchange data with various systems, including satellites, other drones, aircraft, ships, expeditionary advanced bases, and ground-based sensors.

“What they bring with them is a sensing and making-sense capability,” Smith said. “Some of the pods that go on our MQ-9s are classified… [so] I’ll be careful here,” he added. “There’s a type of pod that can mimic signals it detects, turn them around and send them back. Thus, it becomes a hole, it becomes a black hole, it becomes mostly undetectable.”

The MQ-9 drones acquired by the Marines are 10.9 meters long with a wingspan of 20.1 meters, can fly for up to 27 hours at an altitude of 50,000 feet, and have an external payload capacity of 3,000 pounds and an internal payload capacity of 850 pounds. They can reach a speed of 240 knots.

As part of the Marine Corps' Multi-Mission Unmanned Expeditionary (MUX MALE) initiative, 20 MQ-9A Block 5 systems, along with ground control stations and Sky Tower communication relay pods, will be deployed. To date, at least 12 drones have been fielded.

While the Reaper has been primarily used as a terrorist hunter-killer by the Air Force and the CIA post-9/11, the Marine Corps intends to use the system mainly for communications and data relay, electronic warfare, and ISR missions in the Indo-Pacific region.

This concept aligns with the Pentagon's Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) initiative, which aims to better connect the sensors, platforms, and data streams of the U.S. military and its key allies under a more unified network.

“If you must be out-sticked by the adversary in terms of sensing and striking, then you are of no value. You must be able to sense at range, make sense of what is happening, and share that data ubiquitously across the battlespace with the joint force,” Smith emphasized.

Looking to the future, Smith envisions the Marine Corps using increasingly autonomous drones. “There is nothing ‘unmanned’ about unmanned because those sensors require human oversight for control and maintenance,” he noted. Currently, many drones in the force are also remotely piloted.

The use of artificial intelligence-enabled systems could enhance operations, he suggested, citing the example of the Navy's automated Close-In Weapons System (CIWS), which can defend ships against incoming missiles by firing thousands of rounds per minute without additional human input.

“So, there’s a human in the loop, but the human turns control over to the machine at some point. And I think that is where we need to go. Automation is already here, and machine-to-machine learning is crucial,” Smith stated. “Our MQ-9s are important because they talk to each other, learn, bounce off ground sensors, pick up signals from destroyers and frigates, and ubiquitously pass that data to the ground force and surface force.”

This technological advancement marks a significant step in the evolution of the Marine Corps' military capabilities, enhancing their efficiency and stealth in modern operations.

As a reminder, the MQ-9 Reaper, introduced on May 1, 2007, is a multi-role, remotely piloted aircraft system used by the U.S. Air Force for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), and precision strike missions. It features sensors including infrared, daylight TV, and laser designators, and can carry up to 1,700 kg of payload, including Hellfire missiles and laser-guided bombs. The Reaper can operate at altitudes up to 50,000 feet and has a range of over 1,900 kilometers. It is remotely controlled and offers a cruise speed of 313 km/h, powered by a Honeywell TPE331-10 turboprop engine generating 900 hp.