General Atomics MQ-9

Since the MQ-9 caught on as a way for the U.S. to track insurgents during its so-called war on terrorism, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles has revolutionized warfare, but will its future hold?

A picture released by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems shows the Sparrowhawk aircraft as a wing store on an MQ-9 Reaper UAS.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) and Spain’s Sener Aerospacial are developing an underwing pod that will enable European customers of the MQ-9 Reaper and SkyGuardian to fit sovereign sensors to the unmanned air system.

The U.S. Air Force is inviting industry to submit ideas to start replacing the MQ-9 unmanned aircraft system by 2030 with a next-generation, medium-altitude strike and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance UAS.

Germany is looking to arm its future fleet of EuroDrone unmanned aircraft systems with MBDA Brimstone air-to-ground missiles and Enhanced Paveway

The nearly $4 billion in procurement reprogramming is taken from the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and National Guard.